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Updated: Dec 29, 2025

Author Spotlight: Optimizing iPSC Differentiation for Efficient Production to Generate Kidney Organoids
Published on: September 1, 2023
Cellular plasticity: A mechanism for homeostasis in the kidney
Adrienne M Assmus1, John J Mullins1, Cara M Brown1
1The University of Edinburgh - Cardiovascular Science (CVS), Queen's Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
Abstract:
Cellular plasticity is a topical subject with interest spanning a wide range of fields from developmental biology to regenerative medicine. Even the nomenclature is a subject of debate, and the underlying mechanisms are still under investigation. On top of injury repair, cell plasticity is a constant physiological process in adult organisms and tissues, in response to homeostatic challenges. In this review we discuss two examples of plasticity for the maintenance of homeostasis in the renal system-namely the renin-producing juxtaglomerular cells (JG cells) and cortical collecting duct (CCD) cells. JG cells show plasticity through recruitment mechanisms, answering the demand for an increase in renin production. In the CCD, cells appear to have the ability to transdifferentiate between principal and intercalated cells to help maintain the highly regulated solute transport levels of that segment. These two cases highlight the complexity of plasticity processes and the role they can play in the kidney.
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