Journal: Nephron
Submission Deadline: October 31, 2025
Working with kidney organoids holds promise in both biological and biomedical fields. Insights are being made into normal development and differentiation; generation of disease models as test beds for pharmacological and toxicology testing; and even creating new sources of cells for kidney replacement therapy.
Despite their great potential, human kidney organoid technology has important limitations. As examples: reproducibility of protocols within and between laboratories; the small size of organoids; the challenge of generating an integrated urinary tract, that comprises nephrons, collecting ducts, patterned vessels, and even a ureter. Moreover, can organoids be used to model important acquired human conditions such as kidney fibrosis or diabetic nephropathy? Finally, when cultured in isolation, kidney organoids of course lack interaction with other organs and physiological environments, as would occur in vivo.
In this article collection, we wish to bring together experts in kidney organoids and closely related technologies to provide conceptual and technical frameworks addressing both state-of-the-art research but also envisioning how roadblocks to patient benefit might be overcome in the next decade.
Please select the option “Call for Papers: Human Kidney Organoids: Routes to Patient Benefit” when submitting your manuscript and mention this Call for Papers in your cover letter.
As a hybrid journal, Nephron supports Open Access publications. Corresponding authors can publish Open Access articles at no or reduced cost if they are associated with or employed by one of these universities/institutions.
Check out the Author Guidelines.