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Stefano Da Sacco

Assistant Professor Of Research Urology

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Overview

Dr. Stefano Da Sacco is an Assistant Professor of Research Urology at the University of Southern California and an Investigator at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He earned his PhD in tissue engineering through a joint program between the University of Padua, Italy, and the University of Southern California. Dr. Da Sacco completed his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Roger De Filippo and Dr. Laura Perin.

Dr. Da Sacco’s research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of kidney development and disease, with a particular emphasis on the role of renal stem cells in kidney repair and regeneration. His laboratory aims to identify novel therapeutic targets and develop regenerative medicine approaches to treat kidney diseases.

Dr. Da Sacco’s lab has developed a functional glomerulus-on-a-chip platform, which models the human glomerular filtration barrier using human podocytes and glomerular endothelial cells. This innovative system allows for the study of disease mechanisms, drug testing, and biomarker discovery in a controlled environment. The glomerulus-on-a-chip has been instrumental in advancing our understanding of renal pathophysiology and holds promise for high-throughput screening of therapeutic compounds.

Dr. Da Sacco has received research awards from NIH, ASF, and CIRM and is currently supported by NIH/NIDDK RO1s, a PNRC grant award, and Industry collaborations.

Dr. Da Sacco is a member of several professional societies, including the American Society of Nephrology, the International Society of Glomerular Diseases, The Pediatric Nephrology Research Consortium, and ISSNAF. He serves as a reviewer for NIH study sections and the Italian Ministry of Health among others. He has published extensively in leading scientific journals and is a reviewer for several peer-reviewed publications.

Publications

  • The spatially resolved transcriptome signatures of glomeruli in chronic kidney disease JCI Insight. 2024 Mar 22; 9(6). . View in PubMed
  • C3aR-initiated signaling is a critical mechanism of podocyte injury in membranous nephropathy JCI Insight. 2024 Jan 16; 9(4). . View in PubMed
  • Identification and Characterization of the Wilms Tumor Cancer Stem Cell Adv Sci (Weinh). 2023 07; 10(20):e2206787. . View in PubMed
  • Mitochondria Transplantation Mitigates Damage in an In Vitro Model of Renal Tubular Injury and in an Ex Vivo Model of DCD Renal Transplantation Ann Surg. 2023 12 01; 278(6):e1313-e1326. . View in PubMed
  • Intravital imaging reveals glomerular capillary distension and endothelial and immune cell activation early in Alport syndrome JCI Insight. 2022 01 11; 7(1). . View in PubMed
  • Generation of a Glomerular Filtration Barrier on a Glomerulus-on-a-Chip Platform Methods Mol Biol. 2022; 2373:121-131. . View in PubMed
  • Emerging Technologies to Study the Glomerular Filtration Barrier Front Med (Lausanne). 2021; 8:772883. . View in PubMed
  • Loss of decay-accelerating factor triggers podocyte injury and glomerulosclerosis J Exp Med. 2020 09 07; 217(9). . View in PubMed
  • Author Correction: A glomerulus-on-a-chip to recapitulate the human glomerular filtration barrier Nat Commun. 2019 Oct 21; 10(1):4791. . View in PubMed
  • Circulating B Cells With Memory and Antibody-Secreting Phenotypes Are Detectable in Pediatric Kidney Transplant Recipients Before the Development of Antibody-Mediated Rejection Transplant Direct. 2019 Sep; 5(9):e481. . View in PubMed
  • A glomerulus-on-a-chip to recapitulate the human glomerular filtration barrier Nat Commun. 2019 08 13; 10(1):3656. . View in PubMed
  • Amniotic fluid cells: current progress and emerging challenges in renal regeneration Pediatr Nephrol. 2018 06; 33(6):935-945. . View in PubMed
  • Direct Isolation and Characterization of Human Nephron Progenitors Stem Cells Transl Med. 2017 02; 6(2):419-433. . View in PubMed
  • A step towards clinical application of acellular matrix: A clue from macrophage polarization Matrix Biol. 2017 01; 57-58:334-346. . View in PubMed
  • Amniotic fluid stem cell-derived vesicles protect from VEGF-induced endothelial damage Sci Rep. 2017 12 04; 7(1):16875. . View in PubMed
  • Decellularized Renal Matrix and Regenerative Medicine of the Kidney: A Different Point of View Tissue Eng Part B Rev. 2016 06; 22(3):183-92. . View in PubMed
  • Renal Extracellular Matrix Scaffolds From Discarded Kidneys Maintain Glomerular Morphometry and Vascular Resilience and Retains Critical Growth Factors Transplantation. 2015 Sep; 99(9):1807-16. . View in PubMed
  • Prolonged fasting reduces IGF-1/PKA to promote hematopoietic-stem-cell-based regeneration and reverse immunosuppression Cell Stem Cell. 2014 Jun 05; 14(6):810-23. . View in PubMed
  • Amniotic fluid stem cells prevent ß-cell injury Cytotherapy. 2014 Jan; 16(1):41-55. . View in PubMed
  • A novel source of cultured podocytes PLoS One. 2013; 8(12):e81812. . View in PubMed
  • Injection of amniotic fluid stem cells delays progression of renal fibrosis J Am Soc Nephrol. 2012 Apr; 23(4):661-73. . View in PubMed
  • ß-Cell regeneration mediated by human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells PLoS One. 2012; 7(8):e42177. . View in PubMed
  • The milieu of damaged alveolar epithelial type 2 cells stimulates alveolar wound repair by endogenous and exogenous progenitors Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2011 Dec; 45(6):1212-21. . View in PubMed
  • Regenerative medicine of the kidney Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2011 Apr 30; 63(4-5):379-87. . View in PubMed
  • Amniotic fluid as a source of pluripotent and multipotent stem cells for organ regeneration Curr Opin Organ Transplant. 2011 Feb; 16(1):101-5. . View in PubMed
  • Human amniotic fluid as a potential new source of organ specific precursor cells for future regenerative medicine applications J Urol. 2010 Mar; 183(3):1193-200. . View in PubMed
  • Protective effect of human amniotic fluid stem cells in an immunodeficient mouse model of acute tubular necrosis PLoS One. 2010 Feb 24; 5(2):e9357. . View in PubMed
  • Stem cell and regenerative science applications in the development of bioengineering of renal tissue Pediatr Res. 2008 May; 63(5):467-71. . View in PubMed
  • Characterization of human amniotic fluid stem cells and their pluripotential capability Methods Cell Biol. 2008; 86:85-99. . View in PubMed

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