OrganoidsSmall Cells Doing Big Things
Franklin Wilson
GTCC North Carolina STEM Alliance
What is an organoid?
Three-dimensional cluster
of cells grown in-vitro
The making of an organoid
5 Basic Steps:
The making of an organoid
5 Basic Steps:
1. Obtain Sample
The making of an organoid
5 Basic Steps:
1. Obtain Sample
2. Mechanically and chemically dissociate tissue into single cells
The making of an organoid
5 Basic Steps:
1. Obtain Sample
2. Mechanically and chemically dissociate tissue into single cells
3. Use cell-sorter to obtain target cells (stem cells)
The making of an organoid
5 Basic Steps:
1. Obtain Sample
2. Mechanically and chemically dissociate tissue into single cells
3. Use cell-sorter to obtain target cells (stem cells)
4. Add target cells to Matrigel
The making of an organoid
5 Basic Steps:
1. Obtain Sample
2. Mechanically and chemically dissociate tissue into single cells
3. Use cell-sorter to obtain target cells (stem cells)
4. Add target cells to Matrigel
5. Allow cells to grow (1-90 days)
0d 4d 6d
12d 14d 22d
8d
25d
11d
Types of organoids
Cerebral Cortex
Hepatic
Renal
Cardiac
Prostatic
Gastric
Lung Epithelial
Intestinal
Optic Cup
Thyroid
Pancreatic
Neural Tube
Pituitary
Mammary
Potential Uses for Organoids
Testing Uses
Perform tests of medical,
biological, and chemical
agents
Pharmaceutical Uses
Benefits to drug manufacturing:
• Lower the cost
• Decrease time needed
• Dramatically reduce the
amount of animals testing
Pharmaceutical Uses
Drawbacks:
• Not a whole organ
• Not a body
Uses in Regenerative Medicine
Uses in Regenerative Medicine
Process hepatic cancer treatment:
1. Excise tumor
2. Dissociate and harvest target
cells
3. Use CRISPR to modify DNA
4. Grow cells in Matrigel mold
5. Implant
Uses in Regenerative Medicine
Benefits to lab grown organs:
• Avoid risk of rejection
• Decrease transplant list
Uses in Regenerative Medicine
Drawbacks:
• Time needed to grow
• Lack of differentiation
• Size constraints