Substrate Elasticity Governs Differentiation of Renal Tubule Cells in Prolonged Culture

End-stage renal disease afflicts ∼750,000 Americans and claims >100,000 lives annually in the United States. Kidney transplantation is associated with longest survival and least cost but is limited by scarcity of donor organs. The balance of patients are treated with dialysis, a cumbersome, morbid, and expensive procedure. Each hemodialysis treatment consumes in excess of 160 liters of water and anchors the patient to a machine for 12–15 h per...