An artificial kidney that has been created by scientists can help in the early detection of adverse drug reactions. A nephron, which includes the tangled network of tiny blood vessels known as the glomerulus, is the basic anatomical and functional unit in a kidney. The nephron is the first organ to display drug toxicity when drugs are administered in excess to the body.

In the newly engineered kidney, researchers have fabricated a glomerular microvessel-on-a-chip, which includes glomerular endothelial cells, podocyte layers, and a glomerular basement membrane (GBM) using a single-step fabrication process.

The studys principal investigator, professor Dong-Woo Cho of Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), South Korea, stated that the research team has effectively duplicated the glomerular units of the kidney, which provide unlimited possibilities for drug screening and nephrotoxicity testing in clinical practice. He explained that the major challenge in developing this system was duplicating the hard-to-emulate glomerulus`s ability to release proteins, following microscopic interactions between podocytes and GBM proteins.

The artificial organ permits the interaction of monolayer glomerular endothelium and podocyte epithelium. They stimulated the production of GBM proteins and showed the mature functionality of glomerular cells. 

(Source: https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/medical-devices/engineered-kidney-could-allow-for-early-detection-of-drug-toxicity/99185321 )