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.

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