WCN26-2588 Establishment of a Human Patient–Derived Proximal Tubule Microphysiological System (MPS) for in vitro Nephrotoxicity Drug Screening

Recently, the FDA and NIH have launched new initiatives to reduce animal testing in drug development, emphasizing the urgent need for alternative technologies, including in vitro culture systems, for non-clinical safety evaluation. As nephrotoxicity remains one of the major concerns in drug development, there is an increasing demand for in vitro systems that closely recapitulate human kidney function. To address this need, we aimed to establish a novel in vitro proximal tubule–mimicking system using primary renal tubular epithelial cells (hRTECs) derived from human nephrectomy specimens and a custom-designed microfluidic device capable of reproducing physiological luminal flow.