# Development of the NephroPlate: A high-throughput kidney-on-a-chip platform for identifying chronic kidney disease therapies

> **NIH NIH R44** · MIMETAS US, INC. · 2022 · $1,000,000

## Abstract

Project Summary
With chronic kidney disease on the rise, it is imperative that we identify better treatment strategies to avoid a
healthcare crisis. Current therapeutic interventions address patient symptoms rather than the underly cause and
thereby do not substantially slow disease advancement. Developing drugs to treat the underlying cause or
disorder leading to CKD will address this need, however such advancements have been hampered by the lack
of in vitro human kidney models used in the drug development pipeline. Thus, an in vitro model which accurately
mimics individual human CKDs and can be screened for disease-relevant therapeutic interventions is urgently
needed to identify targeted CKD interventions. This Phase II SBIR is a continuation of a successful Phase I and
a collaborative effort between MIMETAS and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA). Together we will
focus on addressing the market need for a 3D kidney-on-a-chip platform, called the NephroPlate for use in drug
discovery. The NephroPlate will enable the evaluation of kidney function in response to circulating and genetic
factors of CKD-causing disorders. For this Phase II project, we will focus on glomerulopathies where we have
previous experience, Alport syndrome and membranous nephropathy, and where there is a high demand from
NephroPlate customers, diabetic nephropathy and APOL1 nephropathy. For each CKD, we will characterize
phenotype (immunostaining, western blot, RNAseq) and glomerular filtration function by measuring the passage
of fluorescent albumin and the trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER) within the microfluidic system. All
systems will be validated to high-throughput drug screening standards. Filtrate from the glomerulus-on-a-chip
cultures will be transferred to the proximal tubule-on-a-chip cultures to evaluate the impact of glomerular disease
on proximal tubules. Finally, proteomics will be performed on the glomerular and proximal tubule filtrate to identify
potential biomarkers specific to each CKD. Once executed these studies will establish the NephroPlate as a
high-throughput drug screening platform for use by pharmaceutical companies and academic laboratories to
investigate mechanisms of CKD diseases and ultimately identify disease-specific therapeutics.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10547358
- **Project number:** 2R44DK127659-02
- **Recipient organization:** MIMETAS US, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Kristin M Bircsak
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $1,000,000
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2020-09-28 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10547358

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10547358, Development of the NephroPlate: A high-throughput kidney-on-a-chip platform for identifying chronic kidney disease therapies (2R44DK127659-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10547358. Licensed CC0.

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