Production of vascularised kidney organoids with anatomically appropriate tubular organization and connection, solely from embryonic stem cells

Organoids generated from pluripotent stem cells typically possess accurate micro anatomy but lack the higher order organization of an organ, which limits how well they mimic real organs. In this study we present a method for engineering kidney organoids solely from mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC), with much improved higher-order anatomy. mESC were differentiated to ureteric bud (iUB), nephron (iNP) and stromal lineages (iSP); pure progenitor populations were sorted and their expression profiles were compared to their embryonic day (E) 11.5 and 12.5 counterpart. Results: Comparative analysis showed the similarity of iUB progenitors to both E11.5 and E12.5 UB cells. However, both iNP and iSP were distinct from their ex-fetu counterparts. RNA profiles of the iUB, iNP, and iSP were compared to that of the E11.5 and E12.5 equivalant. 36 samples were included and are divided into nine groups (each group has four different repeats)