Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
Content archived on 2024-06-18

Developing a stem cell based therapy to replace nephrons lost through reflux nephropathy

Objective

The prevalence of end stage renal disease (ESRD) continues to grow worldwide. Current treatment options for ESRD are peritoneal dialysis, haemodialysis, or renal transplantation, all of which have significant drawbacks both in terms of quality and quantity of life. In children and young adults, the most common cause of ESRD is vesicoureteric reflux (VUR), a condition where urine from the bladder re-enters the kidney. VUR creates an increased risk of urinary tract infection, predisposing to pyelonephritis, renal scarring, and in the most severe cases, ESRD. However, there is usually a time-window of several years from initial diagnosis of VUR to the development of ESRD, which presents an opportunity to design therapies aimed at preventing disease progression by repairing renal tissue before it becomes non functional. Recent advances in stem cell science and tissue engineering suggests that stem cell based therapies for reflux nephropathy could be feasible. The long-term aim is to explore the potential of resident kidney stem cells for renal replacement therapy in order to prevent susceptible children from developing ESRD. In this project, the potential of resident kidney stem cells will be tested by transplantation into mouse embryonic kidneys ex vivo. To devise a suitable scaffold to, a range of biocompatible polymeric substrates will be fabricated and tested for their ability to support nephrogenesis from disaggregated mouse kidney rudiments in vitro. Finally, we will develop a magnetic nanoparticle-based cell tracking technique that will enable the transplanted cells to be monitored in vivo using magnetic resonance imaging. Results generated by the project will establish if kidney stem cells have potential for future use in regenerative medicine. Should the results prove positive, further work will determine if the isolated kidney stem are capable of generating nephrons in animal models in vivo.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-2-IIF
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MC-IIF - International Incoming Fellowships (IIF)

Coordinator

THE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL
EU contribution
€ 167 689,90
Address
BROWNLOW HILL 765 FOUNDATION BUILDING
L69 7ZX LIVERPOOL
United Kingdom

See on map

Region
North West (England) Merseyside Liverpool
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data
My booklet 0 0