Methods in Kidney Cell Biology Part A

Dr. Weimbs received his doctoral degree from the Department of Biochemistry of the University of Cologne, Germany, in 1993. He conducted postdoctoral research with Keith Mostov at the Department of Anatomy, University of California at San Francisco until 1999 where he investigated the role of SNARE proteins in membrane trafficking and epithelial cell polarity. In 1999, he joined the Department of Cell Biology in the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic as an Assistant Professor where he established his own research laboratory. Besides continuing his work on SNAREs and epithelial cell polarity his laboratory began to investigate molecular mechanisms underlying polycystic kidney disease (PKD). In 2005, Dr. Weimbs moved his lab to the University of California in Santa Barbara where he is currently a Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. Research on PKD in Dr. Weimbs’ laboratory has contributed to our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis and the function of polycystin-1, the protein affected in this disease. These contributions include the roles of mTOR and STAT signaling in PKD. Recent work has focused on developing new kidney-targeted therapeutics, the role of metabolic changes and tubular crystal deposition in PKD disease progression, and the use of dietary interventions for PKD therapy.

1. Generation of primary cells from ADPKD and normal human kidneys Darren P. Wallace and Gail A. Reif 2. Measurement of cytoplasmic and cilioplasmic calcium in a single living cell Rinzhin T. Sherpa, Rajasekharreddy Pala, Ashraf M. Mohieldin and Surya M. Nauli 3. Application of physiological shear stress to renal tubular epithelial cells Nicholas Ferrell, Ruben M. Sandoval, Bruce A. Molitoris, Paul Brakeman, Shuvo Roy and William H. Fissell 4. ADPKD cell proliferation and Cl--dependent fluid secretion Gail A. Reif and Darren P. Wallace 5. In vitro cyst formation of ADPKD cells Madhulika Sharma, Gail A. Reif and Darren P. Wallace 6. Engineering kidney tissues for polycystic kidney disease modeling and drug discovery Valerio Brizi, Valentina Benedetti, Angelo Michele Lavecchia and Christodoulos Xinaris 7. Differentiation of human kidney organoids from pluripotent stem cells Nelly M. Cruz and Benjamin S. Freedman 8. Studying Na+ and K+ channels in aldosterone-sensitive distal nephrons Jacques Teulon and Wen-Hui Wang 9. Metanephric organ culture Robin L. Maser, Brenda S. Magenheimer and James P. Calvet 10. Ex vivo kidney slice preparations as a model system to study signaling cascades in kidney epithelial cells Biagio Saitta, Michael F. Jalili, Hamidreza Zohoorkari, Renee Rao, Kenneth R. Hallows, Catherine J. Baty and Nuria M. Pastor-Soler 11. Analysis of primary cilia in renal tissue and cells Luciane M. Silva, Wei Wang, Bailey A. Allard, Tana S. Pottorf, Damon T. Jacobs and Pamela V. Tran 12. Quantifying autophagic flux in kidney tissue using structured illumination microscopy Kensei Taguchi, Bertha C. Elias, Subo Qian and Craig R. Brooks 13. Investigation of epigenetics in kidney cell biology Linda Xiaoyan Li, Ewud Agborbesong, Lu Zhang and Xiaogang Li