Mario Lara Carolina, Nhanharelli Juliana de Paula, Borghesi Jéssica, Ribeiro Rafaela Rodrigues, de Carvalho Hianka Jasmyne Costa, da Silva Thamires Santos, Sol Mariano Del, Barreto Rodrigo da Silva Nunes, Barbalho Sandra Maria, Miglino Maria Angelica
Department of Anatomy of Domestic and Wild Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Universidade de São Paulo (FMVZ/USP), São Paulo 05508-270, SP, Brazil.
Center of Excellence in Morphological and Surgical Studies (CEMyQ), Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 1145, Chile.
Cells. 2025 Sep 6;14(17):1395. doi: 10.3390/cells14171395.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common and serious condition in felines. Accordingly, several cell therapies have been studied over the past decades for effective treatments. This study aimed to develop a new lineage of renal progenitor cells for use in cats with CKD. Metanephric and mesonephric progenitor cells were obtained from mesonephros and metanephros tissues of feline conceptuses at four distinct gestational stages. The cultured cells were characterized by their morphology, tumorigenic potential, immunophenotype determined by flow cytometry, and differentiation potential. We then conducted a pilot study in CKD-affected cats, comparing intraperitoneal injections of cultured metanephric progenitor cells ( = 4) to a placebo solution ( = 3). All four cell types exhibited adhesion and colony formation, but showed no tumorigenic potential. Cells tested positive for renal progenitor markers (CD117, Nephron, and WT1), confirming their identity. Treated cats showed no statistically significant differences ( ≤ 0.05) in any of the data analyzed. However, caregivers reported a voluntary increase in appetite after cell administration. Veterinarians confirmed this information during double-blind evaluations conducted after treatment. Although this data are qualitative, no clinical deterioration was observed in cats. Our results suggest that this new lineage of renal progenitor cells did not induce immediate adverse effects, thus supporting its potential for use in cell-based therapies. However, further studies are needed to evaluate its efficacy in treating renal diseases.
慢性肾脏病（CKD）在猫科动物中是一种常见且严重的病症。因此，在过去几十年里，人们研究了多种细胞疗法以寻求有效的治疗方法。本研究旨在开发一种新的肾祖细胞系，用于治疗患有CKD的猫。从处于四个不同妊娠阶段的猫胚胎的中肾和后肾组织中获取中肾和后肾祖细胞。通过细胞形态、致瘤潜能、流式细胞术测定的免疫表型以及分化潜能对培养的细胞进行表征。然后，我们在受CKD影响的猫中进行了一项初步研究，将腹腔注射培养的后肾祖细胞（n = 4）与安慰剂溶液（n = 3）进行比较。所有四种细胞类型均表现出黏附性和集落形成能力，但未显示出致瘤潜能。细胞对肾祖细胞标志物（CD117、肾元蛋白和WT1）检测呈阳性，证实了它们的身份。在分析的任何数据中，治疗的猫均未显示出统计学上的显著差异（P≤0.05）。然而，护理人员报告称细胞给药后猫的食欲自愿增加。兽医在治疗后进行的双盲评估中证实了这一信息。尽管这些数据是定性的，但未观察到猫的临床病情恶化。我们的结果表明，这种新的肾祖细胞系未引发即时不良反应，因此支持其在基于细胞的疗法中的应用潜力。然而，需要进一步研究来评估其在治疗肾脏疾病方面的疗效。
