[SYS_OK] MEA_0 ACTIVE -- 862 Hz mean spike rate -- donor 924A consent verified -- 37.0 C -- rack draw 914 W -- 0.85 Gop/W -- MEA_1 ACTIVE -- 743 Hz -- donor 482B consent verified -- 37.1 C -- perfusion nominal --
OrganoidBiofoundry
Organ model · Renal

Kidney organoids

Kidney organoids, or renal organoids, are stem-cell-derived tissues that self-organize into nephron-like segments, the kidney's filtering units, making them a human model for the nephrotoxicity that ends many drug candidates.

The kidney concentrates whatever the blood carries, which is exactly why it is so often the organ a drug poisons. A model that builds real nephron structure lets that damage be caught in human tissue before a compound reaches a patient.

What does a kidney organoid contain?

From iPSCs, renal organoids self-organize into the major nephron segments, podocytes of the glomerulus, proximal and distal tubules, and connecting structures, alongside early vascular elements.17 That segmentation is what makes them useful: different drugs damage different parts of the nephron, and a model that contains those parts can localize the injury rather than just register that something went wrong.

Nephron segments modeled in a kidney organoid The functional segments of a nephron, from the filtering glomerulus through the proximal tubule, loop, and distal tubule, each a distinct site of potential drug toxicity. filtration -> excretion Glomerulus (podocytes) filtration barrier Proximal tubule reabsorption, common toxicity site Loop + distal tubule concentration, ion handling
A renal organoid reproduces the nephron's functional segments. Different toxins strike different segments, which is why segmentation matters for screening.

How is renal toxicity detected?

The key readout is transepithelial electrical resistance, or TEER, which measures how well the epithelial barrier holds together. Healthy tubule cells form tight junctions that resist current; when a toxic compound damages them, the junctions loosen and TEER drops, often before any structural damage is visible under a microscope. Monitored continuously, TEER turns barrier failure into an early, quantitative signal. The model and its readout are listed in the organ-model directory and feed drug discovery.

Frequently asked questions

What is a kidney organoid used for?

Mainly nephrotoxicity screening: testing whether a drug damages the kidney's filtering structures, using human tissue that forms real nephron segments.

What is TEER and why does it matter?

Transepithelial electrical resistance measures the integrity of an epithelial barrier. A drop in TEER signals that tight junctions are failing, an early sign of toxicity before visible damage.

Do kidney organoids contain real nephrons?

They form nephron-like segments, including glomerular podocytes and proximal and distal tubules, though the structures are simpler and less mature than an adult kidney's.

References

  1. Takasato M, et al. Kidney organoids from human iPS cells contain multiple lineages and model human nephrogenesis. Nature. 2015;526(7574):564-568. doi:10.1038/nature15695. Accessed 2026-06-12.
  2. Clevers H. Modeling development and disease with organoids. Cell. 2016;165(7):1586-1597. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2016.05.082. Accessed 2026-06-12.