Paola Romagnanin
Meyer Childrens Hospital
Italy
Title: The renal parenchymal niches of progenitor cells and glomerular repair
Biography
Biography: Paola Romagnanin
Abstract
Kidney disorders represent a major global health issue. In the last few years, studies performed in mammalian kidney supported the existence of renal progenitors with the potential to regenerate glomerular as well as tubular epithelial cells. Indeed, renal progenitors (RPC) have become a key player in the pathogenesis of kidney disorders, and their study is increasing knowledge about the mechanisms of kidney response to injury. Renal progenitors were first identified in human, where they localize within the Bowman's capsule as well as along the tubular compartment. Lineage tracing of the murine renal progenitor system following injury has shown that the outcome of glomerular disorders may depend from a balance between injury and regeneration. Indeed, factors that promote progression of renal disorders, like proteinuria, impair renal progenitors growth and differentiation, thus blocking regenerative processes. Consistently, use of drugs that stimulate renal progenitors growth or differentiation exert protective effect on renal function and restore kidney tissue integrity. From all these findings it appears clear that understanding of how self-renewal and fate decision of renal progenitors may be perturbed will be of crucial importance and that RPC represent novel therapeutic targets to improve podocyte regeneration and disease regression.
