RESUMO
The kidney has an inherent ability for recovery and regeneration following acute damage. However, there has been much contention as to the source of regenerating renal cells. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize these cells. Normal rat kidneys were minced and cells were isolated with collagenase I and were cultured in an expansion medium. Adherent cells were isolated and expanded for more than 120 days in vitro. These cells had the potential of trans-lineage differentiation into neural cells, adipocytes and osteocytes. These cells also expressed Nucleostemin, Cyclin D1, Notch1 and Survivin which are commonly expressed in stem cells. The results of the current work show that the adult kidney contains a population of multipotent stem cells.