Cellular Diversity in Human Nephrogenesis

Key Personnel

Andrew McMahon (PI)
University of Southern California

• Andy Ransick
  University of Southern California

Project Description

The functional unit of the mammalian kidney is the nephron. Though there is a general appreciation for when and how different cell types of the nephron form from studies in the mouse, there is little understanding of these processes in the human kidney, and no rigorous accounting for the full range of mature cell types that underpin kidney function in either mouse or man. An understanding of the diversity of nephron cell types is essential for the goals of (Re)Building A Kidney Consortium where generating functional kidney structures is the consortium target. Further, individual cell types are likely targets for distinct disease features; as an example, mutations in genes producing podocyte specific gene products result in glomerular nephritis. We will combine two complementary strategies, MARIS (Method for Analyzing RNA following Intracellular Sorting) and Drop-seq, to obtain detailed comparative transcriptional profiles of mouse and human nephron progenitors and nephrons to address the question of cellular diversity.