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Review
. 2021 Nov 16:9:740574.
doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.740574. eCollection 2021.

Research Progress, Challenges, and Breakthroughs of Organoids as Disease Models

Yisheng Huang  1 , Zhijie Huang  1 , Zhengming Tang  1 , Yuanxin Chen  1 , Mingshu Huang  1 , Hongyu Liu  1 , Weibo Huang  2 , Qingsong Ye  3   4 , Bo Jia  1
Affiliations
Review

Research Progress, Challenges, and Breakthroughs of Organoids as Disease Models

Yisheng Huang et al. Front Cell Dev Biol. .

Abstract

Traditional cell lines and xenograft models have been widely recognized and used in research. As a new research model, organoids have made significant progress and development in the past 10 years. Compared with traditional models, organoids have more advantages and have been applied in cancer research, genetic diseases, infectious diseases, and regenerative medicine. This review presented the advantages and disadvantages of organoids in physiological development, pathological mechanism, drug screening, and organ transplantation. Further, this review summarized the current situation of vascularization, immune microenvironment, and hydrogel, which are the main influencing factors of organoids, and pointed out the future directions of development.

Keywords: disease model; extracellular matrix; immune environment; organoids; vascularization.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Schematic diagram of mutual transformation. (A) Organoids: a 3D cell culture, which reproduces the cell composition, morphological structure and other characteristics of the source tissue. (B) Cell lines: a 2D cell culture consisting of a single cell. (C) Xenografts: transplantation of human tissue/cells or directly induced animal models.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Tumor organoids and functions. (A) Scientists successfully cultured different cancer organoids. (B) Organoids perfectly simulate the pathological expression and tissue structure of tumors. (C) Organoids are suitable for gene editing. (D) High-throughput screening of drugs.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Organoids in infectious diseases. Organoids are unique and composed of various differentiated cells. Different cells can connect with the pathogens simultaneously and react differently in the same organoids, consistent with the response of the human body. (A) Pathogenic microorganisms use the host to reproduce. (B) The pathogenic microorganism is killed and decomposed by the host. (C) Host cell lysis and death.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Obtaining vascularized renal organoids by in vivo vascularization. In vivo vascularization is carried out by transplanting organoids into the mouse. The capillaries around the mice will invade the organoid mass and establish vascular circulation.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
The interaction between intestinal organoids and immune cells (Schreurs et al., 2019; Howitt et al., 2016; von Moltke et al., 2016; Gerbe et al., 2016; Nozaki et al., 2016; Waddell et al., 2019; Lindemans et al., 2015; Biton et al., 2018; Takashima et al., 2019; Jung et al., 2018; Jowett et al., 2021; Ihara et al., 2018).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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