Scientists develop artificial kidney that may end dialysis

Scientists at the University of California San Francisco have developed a bioreactor device that uses human kidney cells cultured in the laboratory and mimics some of the key functions of a kidney.

The device, according to the scientists, could one day free people from needing dialysis or having to take harsh drugs to suppress their immune system after a transplant.

The scientists said the device has been successfully tested in pigs for a week with no obvious side effects or issues.

According to the statement on the university’s website, the device can work quietly in the background, like a pacemaker, and does not trigger the recipient’s immune system to go on the attack.

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“Eventually, scientists plan to fill the bioreactor with different kidney cells that perform vital functions like balancing the body’s fluids and releasing hormones to regulate blood pressure – then pair it with a device that filters waste from the blood.

“The aim is to produce a human-scale device to improve on dialysis, which keeps people alive after their kidneys fail but is a poor substitute for having a real working organ. More than 500,000 people in the U.S. require dialysis several times a week. Many seek kidney transplants, but there are not enough donors, and only about 20,000 people receive them each year. An implantable artificial kidney would be a boon,” it noted.

The scientists engineered the bioreactor to connect directly to blood vessels and veins, allowing the passage of nutrients and oxygen, much like a transplanted kidney would.

“Silicon membranes keep the kidney cells inside the bioreactor safe from attack by the recipient’s immune cells.

“The team used a type of kidney cell called a proximal tubule cell, which regulates water and salt, as a test case. Co-author H. David Humes, MD, from the University of Michigan, had previously used these cells to help dialysis patients in the intensive care unit with life-saving results,” the statement noted.