Understanding the reproducibility and robustness of the kidney organoid differentiation protocol using RNA-seq

The kidney differentiation protocol takes induced pluripotent stem cells through to kidney organoid via directed differentiation in approximately 25 days. The cells are grown in a monolayer in a dish for seven days and are subjected to growth factors before being pelleted on day seven. The organoids then continue to differentiate as a 3D structure, with at least 8 distinct kidney cell types identifiable around day 18. Here we investigate the reproducibility of the kidney differentiation protocol using RNA sequencing from day 18 organoids. Organoid differentiations were performed in separate batches, and within one of the batches, from three separate vials. The resulting RNA-seq data was analysed to identify genes with highly variable expression between batches and vials. Overall design: Gene expression profiling of four day 18 kidney organoids differentiated concurrently, and six day 18 kidney organoids differentiated from three vials of starting material at a later date.