【特邀评论】夏云教授受邀评述肾单位-集合管精准融合新突破

Min Shi等人于2025年7月3日在干细胞权威杂志《Cell Stem Cell》发表题为“Integrating collecting systems in human kidney organoids through fusion of distal nephron to ureteric bud”的研究论文¹。该研究利用人类干细胞分化而来的肾脏类器官成功模拟了肾单位（nephron）与集合管（collecting duct）结构融合，解决了类器官技术领域长期存在的“管道连接”难题，为肾脏疾病建模与再生治疗开辟新路径。OregenX首席科学顾问夏云教授应邀为该研究撰写科学评论²。

Dr. Yun Xia, Chief Scientific Advisor of OregenX, was recently invited by Cell Stem Cell to preview the latest kidney organoid study by Shi et al. titled "Integrating collecting systems in human kidney organoids through fusion of distal nephron to ureteric bud"¹. The study successfully simulated the critical structural fusion between the nephron and collecting duct generated from human stem cells. This solves the long-standing “plumbing connection” challenge in organoid technologies, opening new paths for kidney disease modelling and regenerative therapeutics.

夏云教授高度评价了该研究组利用双谱系定向分化和精准共培养策略取得的创新性研究成果和临床应用价值，强调了融合过程中可能需要的蛋白酶定向分泌，并展望引入其它细胞或化学组分以促进成形成熟度更高的肾脏类器官。

Dr. Yun Xia was highly impressed by the innovations achieved by the strategy of dual-lineage differentiation and co-culture system. This model offers a platform for understanding kidney disease mechanisms and advancing drug screening. Dr. Yun Xia also pointed out that the possible mechanism of the targeted secretion of proteolytic enzymes could be further explored to understand this critical step for organoid fusion. Incorporating additional cellular or signalling components could enhance the generation of kidney organoids that more closely mimic natural kidney architecture.