Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Apr:29:79-86.
doi: 10.1016/j.coviro.2018.04.001. Epub 2018 Apr 12.

Human organoid cultures: transformative new tools for human virus studies

Sasirekha Ramani  1 , Sue E Crawford  1 , Sarah E Blutt  1 , Mary K Estes  2
Affiliations
Review

Human organoid cultures: transformative new tools for human virus studies

Sasirekha Ramani et al. Curr Opin Virol. 2018 Apr.

Abstract

Studies of human infectious diseases have been limited by the paucity of functional models that mimic normal human physiology and pathophysiology. Recent advances in the development of multicellular, physiologically active organotypic cultures produced from embryonic and pluripotent stem cells, as well as from stem cells isolated from biopsies and surgical specimens are allowing unprecedented new studies and discoveries about host-microbe interactions. Here, we summarize recent developments in the use of organoids for studying human viral pathogens, including intestinal infections with human rotavirus, norovirus, enteroviruses and adenoviruses (intestinal organoids and enteroids), neuronal infections with Zika virus (cerebral organoids) and respiratory infections with respiratory syncytial virus in (lung bud organoids). Biologic discovery of host-specific genetic and epigenetic factors affecting infection, and responses to infection that lead to disease are possible with the use of organoid cultures. Continued development to increase the complexity of these cultures by including components of the normal host tissue microenvironment such as immune cells, blood vessels and microbiome, will facilitate studies on human viral pathogenesis, and advance the development of platforms for pre-clinical evaluation of vaccines, antivirals and therapeutics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Human organoids currently used for studies of viral pathogens.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Application of organoid cultures for virus studies
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Alge CS, Hauck SM, Priglinger SG, Kampik A, Ueffing M. Differential protein profiling of primary versus immortalized human RPE cells identifies expression patterns associated with cytoskeletal remodeling and cell survival. J Proteome Res. 2006;5:862–878. - PubMed
    1. Pan C, Kumar C, Bohl S, Klingmueller U, Mann M. Comparative proteomic phenotyping of cell lines and primary cells to assess preservation of cell type-specific functions. Mol Cell Proteomics. 2009;8:443–450. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sun D, Lennernas H, Welage LS, Barnett JL, Landowski CP, Foster D, Fleisher D, Lee KD, Amidon GL. Comparison of human duodenum and Caco-2 gene expression profiles for 12,000 gene sequences tags and correlation with permeability of 26 drugs. Pharm Res. 2002;19:1400–1416. - PubMed
    1. Cairns RA, Harris IS, Mak TW. Regulation of cancer cell metabolism. Nat Rev Cancer. 2011;11:85–95. - PubMed
    1. Mak IW, Evaniew N, Ghert M. Lost in translation: animal models and clinical trials in cancer treatment. Am J Transl Res. 2014;6:114–118. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types