Urine-Derived Renal Epithelial Cells (URECs) from Transplanted Kidneys as a Promising Immunomodulatory Cell Population.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Pizzuti, Valeria Donadei, Chiara Balducelli, Emma Conte, Diletta Gessaroli, Elisa Paris, Francesca Bini, Claudia Demetri, Marcello Di Nunzio, Miriam Corradetti, Valeria Alviano, Francesco La Manna, Gaetano Comai, Giorgia
Editor	Kalyuzhny, Alexander E.
Copyright Year	2023
Abstract	Kidney transplantation is a lifesaving procedure for patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Organs derived from donation after cardiac death (DCD) are constantly increasing; however, DCD often leads to ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) and Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) events. These phenomena increase kidney cell turnover to replace damaged cells, which are voided in urine. Urine-derived renal epithelial cells (URECs) are rarely present in the urine of healthy subjects, and their loss has been associated with several kidney disorders. The present study aimed to characterize the phenotype and potential applications of URECs voided after transplant. The results indicate that URECs are highly proliferating cells, expressing several kidney markers, including markers of kidney epithelial progenitor cells. Since the regulation of the immune response is crucial in organ transplantation and new immunoregulatory strategies are needed, UREC immunomodulatory properties were investigated. Co-culture with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) revealed that URECs reduced PBMC apoptosis, inhibited lymphocyte proliferation, increased T regulatory (Treg) cells and reduced T helper 1 (Th1) cells. URECs from transplanted patients represent a promising cell source for the investigation of regenerative processes occurring in kidneys, and for cell-therapy applications based on the regulation of the immune response.
Journal	Cells
Volume Number	12
PubMed Central reference number	PMC10296948
Issue Number	12
PubMed reference number	37371100
e-ISSN	20734409
DOI	10.3390/cells12121630
Language	English
Publisher	MDPI
Publisher Date	2023-06-15
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). © 2023 by the authors.
Subject Keyword	chronic kidney disease kidney transplant ischaemia-reperfusion acute kidney injury urine cells urine-derived renal epithelial cells kidney progenitor cells immunomodulatory capacity lymphocytes T regulatory cells
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology