Human urine-derived stem cells contribute to the repair of ischemic acute kidney injury in rats

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a clinical syndrome associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. It has previously been reported that stem cells may be considered a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of AKI. The present study aimed to determine whether administration of urine‑derived stem cells (USCs) to rats with ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)‑induced AKI could improve renal function. USCs were isolated and cultured from 8 healthy men. Subsequently, USCs transduced with green fluorescent protein were mixed with hydrogel and were injected into rats with renal I/R injury. Renal tubular injury, proliferation and apoptosis were detected in the I/R model. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to detect the morphological of kidney injury. Immunohistochemistry and TUNEL kits used to evaluate the proliferation and apoptosis of the I/R model. The results demonstrated that USCs could be detected in the tubular epithelial lining of the rats and administration of USCs was able to improve renal function in the I/R model. The USCs‑treated group exhibited significantly reduced serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels, decreased tubular injury score, an increased number of proliferating cells and a decreased number of apoptotic cells. Compared with the control group, the mRNA expression levels of the anti‑inflammatory factors interleukin (IL)‑10 and transforming growth factor‑β1 were significantly upregulated, whereas the expression levels of the proinflammatory factors interferon‑γ and IL‑1β were significantly reduced in the USCs‑treated group. These findings suggested that USCs may promote kidney repair and improve function following ischemic AKI, which may be useful in treating human kidney disease.