Organoids News and Research

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Organoids are three-dimensional cell cultures from embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells that model important features of whole organs.

Genetically engineered intestinal organoids reveal potential treatment targets against SARS-CoV-2

Using CRISPR/Cas9 and human intestinal organoids to study genes implicated in the biology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), researchers from the Netherlands identified a specific serine protease (TMPRSS2) as an attractive pan-coronavirus therapeutic target. Their exciting findings are available in a study currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

24 May 2021

ErbB inhibitor lapatinib exhibits potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity

A team of scientists from the USA and Belgium has recently revealed that the ErbB family of receptor tyrosine kinases play a vital role in regulating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lifecycle in host cells and that inhibition of these receptors can protect against SARS-CoV-2-induced acute and chronic lung injuries and inflammation.

18 May 2021

Cerebral organoids provide new insight into role of key enzyme in natural brain development

Like many around the world, the lab of Professor Mriganka Sur in The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT has embraced the young technology of cerebral organoids, or "minibrains," for studying human brain development in health and disease.

11 May 2021

Machine learning approach helps study human hypothalamus at the single-cell level

Human brain organoids are remarkable platforms for modeling features of human brain development and diseases.

11 May 2021

Esophageal cancers turn on ancient viral DNA hidden in our genome

Scientists have discovered that many esophageal cancers turn on ancient viral DNA that was embedded in our genome hundreds of millions of years ago.

10 May 2021

Human organoids useful for modeling COVID-19 variants of concern, finds study

A new study published on the bioRxiv* preprint server found that using human organoids could help with better characterizing the phenotype of several viral variants, including B.1.1.7. Their findings show the ribonucleic acid (RNA) shedding of the SARS-CoV-2 variant correlated with viral fitness and infectiousness.

7 May 2021

Study could pave way for new therapies for kidney disease

Our kidneys are charged with the extraordinary task of filtering about 53 gallons of fluid a day, a process that depends on podocytes, tiny, highly specialized cells in the cluster of blood vessels in the kidney where waste is filtered that are highly vulnerable to damage.

5 May 2021

SARS-CoV-2 study in human gut organoids

Most of the major life-threatening symptoms of COVID-19 disease are associated with the host's generation of an exacerbated pro-inflammatory immune response. Many studies have correlated the intensity of the immune response with the severity of disease.

3 May 2021

Tiny 3D brain models could accelerate drug research for multiple sclerosis

Tiny 3-D models that mimic vital aspects of the human nervous system have been developed in a step that could accelerate drug research for neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

3 May 2021

Is Hong Kong’s fourth wave of COVID-19 due to the Q57H SARS-CoV-2 variant?

A recent article in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Emerging Infectious Diseases reveals that the last of these was probably due to the introduction of a new variant from Nepal. This novel variant had been circulating in the community for about a month before the last outbreak was reported.

29 Apr 2021

Researchers develop first 3D organoid models of the pancreas from human stem cells

This year, more than 60,000 adults in the United States will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and, statistically, as few as 10 percent will survive five years after diagnosis, according to the American Cancer Society.

28 Apr 2021

SARS-CoV-2 suppresses the immune response in the gut

In an effort to determine the potential for COVID-19 to begin in a person's gut, and to better understand how human cells respond to SARS-CoV-2, the scientists used human intestinal cells to create organoids - 3D tissue cultures derived from human cells, which mimic the tissue or organ from which the cells originate.

27 Apr 2021

Study identifies how SARS-CoV-2 enters and infects the brain

A recent preclinical study led by Anja Kipar of the University of Zurich and the University of Liverpool found evidence of the virus infecting and eventually provoking cell death in microglia and immune cells — but not neurons. The viral-induced apoptosis in these brain cells may explain why some long-haulers experience ‘brain fog’ months after recovery.

21 Apr 2021