Use of patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells for disease modelling of podocytopathy

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global epidemic, current treatment options are ineffective and do not restore kidney injury. The emerging field of regenerative medicine has shown promise to repair and restore an injured organ such as the kidney. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can provide an unlimited source of any cell type, including kidney podocytes (iPSC-PODs), that can be harnessed for therapeutic use. This thesis investigates the transplantation of monolayer iPSC-PODs into newborn mouse kidneys. The second part of the thesis focuses on using these iPSC-PODs and three- dimensional (3D) kidney organoids to model an inherited glomerular disease called Alport syndrome.