https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2023/08/426056/can-artificial-kidney-finally-free-patients-dialysis Skip to main content University of California San Francisco Give to UCSF Home Search Small screen search [ ] [Search] Choose what type of search to perform (*) All UCSF ( ) UCSF News Center * About + Overview + Mission & Values + Our Impact o Achievements o UCSF in the Community Give to UCSF + History + Facts & Figures o Budget o Inventions & Entrepreneurship o UCSF Fact Sheet Give to UCSF + Administration o Campus Leaders o Chancellor o Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost o Community & Government Relations o Diversity & Outreach o Finance & Administrative Services o Legal Affairs o Office of Communications o University Development & Alumni Relations Give to UCSF + Locations Give to UCSF * Patient Care + Overview + UCSF Health + UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals + UCSF Dental Center + Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital and Clinics + Specialty Clinics + Clinical Trials Give to UCSF * Research + Overview + Partnerships + Office of Research + Innovation Ventures + Postdoctoral Scholars Give to UCSF * Education + Overview + Admissions + Schools & Programs o School of Dentistry o School of Medicine o School of Pharmacy o School of Nursing o Graduate Division o Global Health Sciences Give to UCSF + Resources for Students o Academic Calendar o Career Center o Financial Aid o General Catalog o Library o Registrar o Student Success Guide Give to UCSF Give to UCSF * News & Media + UCSF News Center + UCSF Magazine + Campus News + Media Coverage + Resources for Journalists Give to UCSF * Search Give to UCSF * About Close About menu. 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Education + Overview + Admissions + Schools & Programs Schools & Programs o School of Dentistry o School of Medicine o School of Pharmacy o School of Nursing o Graduate Division o Global Health Sciences + Resources for Students Resources for Students o Academic Calendar o Career Center o Financial Aid o General Catalog o Library o Registrar o Student Success Guide * News & Media Close News & Media menu. News & Media + UCSF News Center + UCSF Magazine + Campus News + Media Coverage + Resources for Journalists * Open or Close Search Form search [ ] Choose what type of search to perform (*) All UCSF ( ) UCSF News Center [Search] Shuvo Roy holds a prototype of the artificial kidney * Research * August 29, 2023 Can an Artificial Kidney Finally Free Patients from Dialysis? The Kidney Project proves its bioreactor can keep kidney cells alive for at least one week. By Levi Gadye Photo of Shuvo Roy holding early prototype of an artificial kidney by Steve Babuljak * Share on Facebook * Share on Twitter * Share on Reddit * Email this article * Print this article Scientists at UC San Francisco are working on a new approach to treating kidney failure that could one day free people from needing dialysis or having to take harsh drugs to suppress their immune system after a transplant. They have shown for the first time that kidney cells, housed in an implantable device called a bioreactor, can survive inside the body of a pig and mimic several important kidney functions. The device can work quietly in the background, like a pacemaker, and does not trigger the recipient's immune system to go on the attack. The findings, published in Nature Communications on August 29, 2023, are an important step forward for The Kidney Project, which is jointly headed by UCSF's Shuvo Roy, PhD (technical director) and Vanderbilt University Medical Center's William H. Fissell, MD (medical director). Eventually, scientists plan to fill the bioreactor with different kidney cells that perform vital functions like balancing the body's fluids and releasing hormones to regulate blood pressure - then pair it with a device that filters waste from the blood. The bioartificial kidney will make treatment for kidney disease more effective and also much more tolerable and comfortable." Shuvo Roy, PhD The aim is to produce a human-scale device to improve on dialysis, which keeps people alive after their kidneys fail but is a poor substitute for having a real working organ. More than 500,000 people in the U.S. require dialysis several times a week. Many seek kidney transplants, but there are not enough donors, and only about 20,000 people receive them each year. An implantable artificial kidney would be a boon. "We are focused on safely replicating the key functions of a kidney," said Roy, a bioengineering professor in the UCSF School of Pharmacy. "The bioartificial kidney will make treatment for kidney disease more effective and also much more tolerable and comfortable." Inspired by nature, honed by science Roy and his colleagues engineered the bioreactor to connect directly to blood vessels and veins, allowing the passage of nutrients and oxygen, much like a transplanted kidney would. Silicon membranes keep the kidney cells inside the bioreactor safe from attack by the recipient's immune cells. The team used a type of kidney cell called a proximal tubule cell, which regulates water and salt, as a test case. Co-author H. David Humes, MD, from the University of Michigan, had previously used these cells to help dialysis patients in the intensive care unit with life-saving results. A 3D schematic of an artificial kidney. A rectangular box has four tubes ejecting from it that perform important kidney functions. Inspired by nature, honed by science Roy and his colleagues engineered the bioreactor to connect directly to blood vessels and veins, allowing the passage of nutrients and oxygen, much like a transplanted kidney would. Silicon membranes keep the kidney cells inside the bioreactor safe from attack by the recipient's immune cells. A 3D schematic of an artificial kidney. A rectangular box has four tubes ejecting from it that perform important kidney functions. The team used a type of kidney cell called a proximal tubule cell, which regulates water and salt, as a test case. Co-author H. David Humes, MD, from the University of Michigan, had previously used these cells to help dialysis patients in the intensive care unit with life-saving results. A green light for The Kidney Project The team tracked the kidney cells and the recipient animals for seven days after transplantation and both did well. The next step will be month-long trials, as required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), first in animals and eventually in humans. "We needed to prove that a functional bioreactor will not require immunosuppressant drugs, and we did," Roy said. "We had no complications and can now iterate up, reaching for the whole panel of kidney functions at the human scale." Authors: Additional UCSF authors are Eun Jung Kim, PhD, Caressa Chen, MD, Rebecca Gologorsky, MD, Ana Santandreu, Alonso Torres, Nathan Wright, MS, Jarrett Moyer, MD, Benjamin W. Chui, PhD, Charles Blaha, MS, Paul Brakeman, MD, PhD, Shant Vartanian, MD, and Qizhi Tang, PhD. For all authors, see the paper. Funding and disclosures: The research was supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health (U01EB021214, R25EB023856), as well as philanthropy. For all funding sources and author disclosures, see the paper. 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