Mini Stomach
A complex organoid of the stomach was grown in a mouse kidney capsule
Anastasia Kuznetsova-Fantoni, N+1
The organoid of the stomach at the fourth week of development. Figures from the article by Eicher et al.
American biologists have grown an organoid of the stomach in the laboratory, which has formed smooth muscles, nerve cells, and glands. The researchers achieved a significant increase in the size of the organoid by planting it in the renal capsule of a mouse, where it developed in vivo. Previously, researchers were able to grow only organoids from epithelial cells. A paper describing the technique was published in Cell Stem Cell (Eicher et al., Functional human gastrointestinal organoids can be engineered from three primary germ layers derived separately from pluripotent stem cells).
The idea of growing human organs in a test tube has been occupying the thoughts of researchers for a long time. Such technology could save the lives of thousands of people who need donated organs. For now, it remains a question of the future, and now scientists are creating miniature models of human organs to study diseases on them and study drugs in vivo.
Such mini-versions of organs are called organoids. Recently we talked about an organoid of the brain, which was grown in the laboratory by German biologists. In addition to the brain cells themselves, the organoid possessed the rudiments of eyes that reacted to light with electrical activity. In the future, researchers plan to study hereditary eye diseases with such eyes.
Scientists from Cincinnati Children's Hospital, led by James M. Wells, have also advanced in the creation of organoids. They were able to obtain a stomach organoid with three types of cells, while before them scientists managed to grow only epithelial cells. American researchers have achieved such success by adding nerve cells to epithelial and mesenchymal cells, which contribute to the growth and development of gastric tissue.
The organoid was based on pluripotent stem cells, from which three types of cells were differentiated. The stomach muscles were then formed from mesenchymal cells, acid—producing glands from epithelial cells, and neurons controlling muscle contractions from nerve cells.
The course of the experiment.
When the organoids reached the age of one month, they were placed under the renal capsule of mice. There, feeding from the vessels of the kidney, the organoids continued their growth and increased in size by a thousand times, compared with organoids in vitro. When the researchers took a biopsy of the mini-organs, they found innervated smooth muscles and gastric glands producing acid and mucin. In general, the structure of the organoids corresponded to the structure of the stomach at a similar period of embryonic development.
As well as brain organoids, stomach organoids are planned to be used for the study of hereditary diseases and drug testing. The final goal of the scientists is to grow full-sized organs for transplantation, although this is likely to happen soon.
In addition to brain and stomach organoids, researchers are also creating heart organoids. Recently, American scientists managed to grow a mini-heart, in which all the main types of heart cells were formed, as well as structures similar to coronary vessels and chambers of the heart.
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