Fig. 6

Monocytes promote differentiation of renal organoids. iPSC differentiation to renal organoids has been performed in the transwell co-culture with human monocytes from Day 0 up to the Day 28. A and B 3D-Confocal microscopy of the renal organoid differentiated in mono culture and in transwell co-culture with human monocytes was performed. A For mono- and co-culture 64 and 135 Z-scans, respectively, were imaged with Z-distance of 1 µM. Sum image of Z-scans was obtained using ImageJ. B For mono- and co-culture 90 and 140 Z-scans, respectively, were imaged with Z-distance of 1 µM. Right panel shows fragment of one of Z-scans with higher magnification. C Size of organoids in z-dimension was analyzed. D Schematic diagram of our observations. EVs released by monocytes promote survival and differentiation of iPSC during initial stages of kidney organoids differentiation. This results in higher number and improved development of organoids