ROCK inhibition facilitates tissue reconstitution from embryonic kidney cell suspensions

Explanted embryonic kidney tissues, when placed in organ culture, recapitulate key aspects of nephron formation. Yet attempts to dissociate these tissues into single cells to make them more accessible for genetic manipulation and tissue recombination have been disappointing. Now it is reported that inhibitors of Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) facilitate tissue reconstitution and nephron differentiation from single-cell suspensions of the embryonic kidney. This finding illustrates an unexpected potential for self-organization in these cells and introduces a window of single-cell accessibility to the organ culture system.