urinederived

Urine-derived refers to biological materials obtained from human urine that have potential value for research, diagnosis, and therapy. This category includes shed cells, nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA, proteins, metabolites, and extracellular vesicles such as exosomes. Urine-derived resources are appealing because urine is easy to collect noninvasively and can be sampled repeatedly.

Among the most studied are urine-derived stem cells (USCs), a noninvasively collected cell population with the capacity to differentiate toward multiple mesenchymal lineages and to contribute to tissue repair in the urinary tract. USCs can be isolated from routine urine samples and expanded in culture, offering potential for regenerative therapies and for disease modeling in urology and beyond.

In addition to cells, urine contains cell-free DNA and RNA and abundant extracellular vesicles that carry nucleic acids and proteins. Urinary cell-free DNA and exosomal cargo have been explored as biomarkers for bladder cancer, kidney disease, and prostate cancer, and have applications in prenatal testing and transplant monitoring in certain contexts. Urinary proteins and metabolomic profiles are also studied for kidney disease and metabolic disorders, providing a noninvasive window into systemic health.

Collection typically uses a clean-catch midstream method and may require stabilization to preserve nucleic acids and proteins. Processing steps include concentration or centrifugation to recover cells, and specialized culture conditions for USCs. Because urine composition varies with hydration, time of day, and infection status, results can be variable and standardization remains a challenge.

Applications span diagnostics, regenerative medicine, and biomedical research. Benefits include noninvasiveness and the ability to monitor changes over time, while limitations involve variability, sample handling requirements, and potential contamination. Ethical considerations focus on privacy and informed consent for genetic material.