Pancreatic organoids
Engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, in collaboration with scientists from the Manchester Institute of Cancer Research, UK, have developed a new method for growing pancreatic organoids from either healthy or cancerous pancreatic cells on a special gel that mimics the intercellular environment.
Unlike other gels that are currently used for growing tissues in vitro, the new gel is completely synthetic, it is easy to manufacture and easily reproducible, that is, it can be repeatedly created with a constant composition. Reproducibility is an important characteristic for the cultivation of stable organoid cultures and for the regulation of the microenvironment.
The basis of the hydrogel is polyethylene glycol (PEG), a polymer that is often used for medical purposes, since it does not interact with living cells. In order to ensure the growth of healthy and cancerous pancreatic organoids, the main microenvironment factors necessary for the preservation and survival of cells were identified and reproduced in genetically modified mouse models and human cell cultures.
It was these components that were planned to be included in the composition of the PEG gel to help cells grow in it.
A feature of the new gel is the presence of peptide ligands that interact with the protein integrin on the cell surface. The adhesive binding of ligands and integrins allows cells to "stick" to the gel and form organoids.
In addition, the inclusion of synthetic peptides derived from fibronectin and collagen in the gel allowed researchers to grow various epithelial tissues, including intestinal tissues. They showed that stromal cells, along with immune cells, can also grow in such an environment.
In their study, the international team planned to find out whether the gel would support the growth of healthy pancreatic organoids and pancreatic cancer. The fact is that it is very difficult to grow pancreatic tissue in such a way that it produces both cancer cells and a supportive environment: as soon as the tumor cells of the pancreas are removed from the body, they lose their distinctive cancer features.
Pancreatic cancer organoid grown in a gel medium. Source: MIT.
Using the new gel, the researchers grew pancreatic cancer organoids, compared them with tissues they studied in live mice, and found that tumor organoids express many of the same integrins that are observed in vivo. In addition, other types of cells that normally surround tumors, including macrophages and fibroblasts, could also grow in the gel microenvironment.
Researchers have shown that a gel can be used to grow organoids from pancreatic cancer cells taken from patients. In the future, such systems could analyze lung cancer, colon cancer and other tumors, as well as grow and study uterine tissue from patients with endometriosis.
The researchers have applied for a patent on the technology.
Article by C.R.Below et al. A microenvironment-inspired synthetic three-dimensional model for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma organoids is published in the journal Nature Materials.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru according to MIT News: Engineers grow pancreatic "organoids" that mimic the real thing.