Malpighian Tubules, an Effort to Employ Regenerative Medicine by Stem Cell Discovery

Event Center A & B

Regenerative medicine proves to be the next advancement in treatment for organ damage or failure. With the use of stem cells, researchers hope to be able to manipulate stem cells into various organs or organ tissues that could be either implanted or used in therapy. Pluripotent stem cells are undifferentiated stem cells that have the potential to become other types of cells, like muscle, neuronal, bone, kidney and liver cells to name a few, when manipulated properly. Using Drosophila Melanogaster as a homolog to the human, we hope to be able to identify and culture stem cells from Malpighian Tubules. Malpighian Tubules are the excretory structures of the Drosophila, which are the equivalent structure to mammalian kidneys. Malpighian Tubules are comprised of two sets of two tubules that connect at the common ureter. The common ureter is then connected between the midgut and hindgut of the Drosophila's digestive tract. The right pair extends forward in the body cavity, while the left pair extends backwards, attaching to the posterior end of the hindgut. Stem cells and progenitor cells have been proposed to be responsible for repair and regeneration of injured renal tissue. In Drosophila, the Malpighian tubules are thought to be very stable and no stem cells have been previously identified. Multipotent stem cells have been found within the tubules for self-renewal purposes.