ADRC Therapies in Kidney Disease
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Isolating and characterising adipose-derived regenerative cells (ADRCs) from human fat as cell therapies in preclinical models of kidney disease
IRAS ID
340561
Contact name
Bettina Wilm
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Liverpool
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
n/a, Small Pump Priming Grant, RCSEd; 53325897-115-02-555610, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkiye
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, months, days
Research summary
We believe that cells contained in fat tissue have a functional role in tissue repair, especially of the kidney.
To test this, we will isolate and characterise cells obtained from fat tissue that is routinely removed and discarded from kidneys during kidney transplantation at the Royal Liverpool Hospital. These cells from fat tissue are called adipose-derived regenerative cells (ADRCs). We will treat the fat tissue with a cocktail of reagents that breaks up the tissue into a suspension of cells. We will analyse the cell suspension by flow cytometry, which allows us to determine which different cell types are present within the cell suspension. We expect that the cell suspension is composed of a range of different cell types with different characteristics, including normal fat cells, mesenchymal stromal cells and inflammatory cells. It is possible that the mesenchymal stromal cells and the inflammatory cells are the ADRCs that have a functional role in repairing damaged kidney tissue.
This work will be performed at the University of Liverpool, where we will test the role of the ADRCs in repair and prevention of damage in an in vitro model of acute kidney injury (AKI). In this in vitro model, specific human kidney cell lines will be cultured in the laboratory, and then injured. Subsequently, the ADRCs will be added to the human kidney cell lines and determined how much the ADRCs or their subpopulations are successful in reducing or preventing cell injury in the kidney cells. This could potentially lead to therapies to improve marginal kidneys which would increase the number of kidneys available for transplantation.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/EM/0236
Date of REC Opinion
26 Nov 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion