Disease Focus: Kidney Disease


Repair and regeneration of the nephron

Kidney function is essential for removing the wastes that result from normal cell function and maintaining water and salt balance in our internal tissues. These actions are carried out by roughly a million nephrons within the kidney that filter all the body’s blood roughly once every 1-2hours. The kidney also regulates other tissues controlling blood […]

Preclinical Model for Labeling, Transplant, and In Vivo Imaging of Differentiated Human Embryonic Stem Cells

The derivation and culture of human embryonic stem cells has provided new possibilities for treatment of a wide variety of human diseases because these cells have the potential to help regenerate and repair many types of damaged tissue. Diseases for which such cell-based treatments may be helpful include obstructive renal disease, a disorder for which […]

CIRM ASCEND Center – Advancing Stem Cell Education and Novel Discoveries

The proposed CIRM ASCEND Center provides cutting-edge organoid-based services, offering consultation, optimized protocols, and genomic analysis. We also offer comprehensive training, workshops, and access to data, empowering researchers across California to excel in stem cell and organoid research. Our CIRM ASCEND Center benefits Californians by advancing regenerative medicine and healthcare. The Center’s services and training […]

Providing a cure for sphingosine phosphate lyase insufficiency syndrome (SPLIS) through adeno-associated viral mediated SGPL1 gene therapy

Research Objective AAV-SPL 2.0 is a gene therapy cure for SPLIS, a lethal childhood disorder of metabolism that causes kidney failure. Our gene therapy may also work in more common fibrotic (scarring) kidney diseases. Impact Our treatment may cure a rare but often fatal genetic disease (SPLIS) for which no specific treatment is available. It […]

Enhanced Branching Morphogenesis and Pluripotent Cell Lineage Differentiation for Pediatric Regenerative Therapies

Research Objective Approximately 20,000 babies are born annually with kidney disease; the long-term outcome is poor. These studies address new ways to develop mini-kidney structures for transplantation to induce repair. Impact ~85% of people on the organ waitlist are in need of a kidney and there are insufficient donors. There is a pressing need to […]

Living Synthetic Vascular Grafts with Renewable Endothelium

Translational Candidate LXW7 coated ePTFE vascular graft achieves rapid endothelization and improved graft patency by capturing endogenous endothelial progenitor cells Area of Impact This technology will produce long-lasting vascular grafts with self-renewable “living” endothelium and improve dialysis patients’ quality of life Mechanism of Action The arteriovenous ePTFE dialysis graft approach is the most common form […]

Cellular Immune Tolerance Symposium

Cellular Immune Tolerance Symposium

Phase 1/2 study for autologous human CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells ex vivo transduced with pCCL-CTNS lentiviral vector for treatment of Cystinosis.

Therapeutic Candidate or Device Autologous Human CD34+ HSC from Mobilized PBSC of Patients with Cystinosis Modified by Ex Vivo Transduction using the pCCL-CTNS Lentiviral Vector Indication Cystinosis – An autosomal metabolic disease that belongs to the family of the lysosomal storage disorders. Gene involved is CTNS (encodes cystinosin). Therapeutic Mechanism The proposed therapy intervention is […]

Induction of Tolerance by Combinatorial Therapy w/ Donor Stem Cells and Expanded Recipient Treg cells in HLA-mismatched Kidney Transplant Recipients

Therapeutic Candidate or Device Combined hematopoietic stem cell graft and recipient T regulatory cells Indication Kidney disease requiring kidney transplantation Therapeutic Mechanism The study will determine whether patients treated with TLI and rATG, and given a haploidentical living donor hematopoietic progenitor cell transplant (HSCT) , along with in vitro expanded recipient Treg cells (what we […]