The Stem Cell Podcast

Ep. 302: “Kidney Organoids” Featuring Dr. Zhongwei Li

Aug 19, 2025
Discover the fascinating world of kidney organoids and their potential in regenerative medicine. Dr. Zhongwei Li sheds light on nephron progenitor cells and drug discovery for polycystic kidney disease. The podcast delves into innovative embryo models developed from pluripotent stem cells without transgenes, revolutionizing our understanding of early development. Explore groundbreaking hypoimmune CAR T cell therapies that promise to change cancer treatment and learn about efforts to reconstruct pancreatic islet organoids for diabetes management.
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INSIGHT

Founder Cells Enable Transgene-Free Embryos

  • Silva lab developed chemically induced founder-like cells that self-organize into embryo models without cell mixing or transgenes.
  • This yields high-efficiency, scalable mouse embryo-like structures advancing to organogenesis stages E8.5–E9.5.
INSIGHT

Small Molecules Drive Whole Embryo Models

  • Jacob Hanna's group generated transgene-free post-gastrulation embryo models solely from naive ESCs using small-molecule signaling modulation.
  • They combined agrowells and roller culture to push embryogenesis toward early organogenesis without extra cell mixing.
INSIGHT

Hypoimmune Edits Improve Allogeneic Cell Retention

  • Hypoimmune engineering (HLA knockout + CD47 expression) enables allogeneic cell retention and reduced immune rejection in early human trials.
  • First-in-human CAR-T reports show durable target depletion in many patients and immune evasion in several cases.
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