Identification of adult nephron progenitors capable of kidney regeneration in zebrafish

dult kidney regeneration Fish can regenerate nephrons — the functional units of the kidney — following kidney injury, whereas adult mammals lack this ability. A previously unknown type of kidney cell responsible for this regeneration has now been discovered in adult zebrafish, where they are found in small aggregations throughout the kidney. When as few as 10–20 of these progenitor cells are transplanted into injured adult kidneys, they engraft and form new, functional nephrons. This suggests that it might be possible to identify an equivalent regenerative cell in humans for therapeutic purposes.