Isolation and Characterization of CD133 Positive Stem Cell from Human Kidney with Renal Cell Carcinoma

Background: Stem cells are one of the rare cell populations in each tissue, whose presence is proven in different types of tissues in the human body. The purpose of this study was to carry out simultaneous investigation into renal stem cells, which are similar to stem cell populations (CD133+) in normal part of the human kidney of a patient afflicted with renal cell carcinoma. Methods: After kidney dissection, its normal part was divided into papilla, medulla, and cortex. Then, the stem cells of each part were separately isolated. Two cell groups (A and B) were considered. Group A contained the MACS-isolated CD133+ cells and group B consisted of the cells, which had not been sorted by any markers. After enzymatic digestion, all isolated cells in both groups were cultured. The cells of each part were analyzed by flowcytometry, proliferation assay, karyotyping and gene expression. Results: The results of the present study show that CD133+ cells are renal stem cells and they are found in every three parts of the kidney, but their frequency is higher in papilla. The cells in group B expressed cell surface marker CD44 significantly. The high expression of OCT 3/4, NANOG, SOX2 and SCA-1 genes was seen in both groups, but the expression of REX1 gene in group A was 5 times more than in group B. Conclusion: It seems that CD133+ cells are the most original cell population found in papilla of human kidney with high frequency. The finding has explored a new horizon towards appropriate selection of stem cells subpopulations (CD133+ cell from healthy part of renal carcinoma) to be used in cellular therapeutic approaches in more defined manner.