Organoids as host models for infection biology – a review of methods

Abstract

Infectious diseases are a major threat worldwide. With the alarming rise of antimicrobial resistance and emergence of new potential pathogens, a better understanding of the infection process is urgently needed. Over the last century, the development of in vitro and in vivo models has led to remarkable contributions to the current knowledge in the field of infection biology. However, applying recent advances in organoid culture technology to research infectious diseases is now taking the field to a higher level of complexity. Here, we describe the current methods available for the study of infectious diseases using organoid cultures.

A Phage Foundry Framework to Systematically Develop Viral Countermeasures to Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Pathogens

“…Specific selection criteria for choosing a most suitable infection model system should be established that includes the model's complexity, relevance, handling, and operational costs ( Alivisatos et al., 2015 ; Blaser et al., 2016 ; Douglas, 2018 , 2019 ; Chevrette et al., 2019 ). A number of model systems such as Caenorhabditis elegans , Galleria mellonella, Drosophila melanogaster , zebrafish and mouse models, organoids, and organs-on-chip for in vivo studies ( Bulitta et al., 2019 ; Brix et al., 2020 ; Aguilar et al., 2021 ; Cieślik et al., 2021 ; Penziner et al., 2021 ), whereas Fabricated Ecosystems (EcoFAB and EcoPODs) for intensive field-scale monitoring of phage-target pathogen-host interactions are brought on-board ( Buttimer et al., 2017 ; Koskella and Taylor, 2018 ; Zengler et al., 2019 ). These model systems are useful to quantitatively assess efficacy of phages, phage cocktails and phage-antibiotic, pesticide, biocides, ionophores, or metal combinations.…”

Tissue Models for Neisseria gonorrhoeae Research—From 2D to 3D

“…Human fallopian tube organoids have been successfully used for studying Chlamydia trachomatis infection (Kessler et al, 2019). Many organoids, however, are formed with the epithelial/luminal surface on the interior, which requires the infection to be performed either by microinjection, by reversion of the organoids, or by disruption of the organoids with reseeding after infection [reviewed in (Aguilar et al, 2021)]. In addition to being used as infection models, organoids can also be a source of primary cells for scaffold-based 3D tissue models, which helps to overcome the problems coupled with the infection of the organoids.…”

Gastric organoids: Advancing the study of H. pylori pathogenesis and inflammation

“…There have been a number of reviews on gastric organoids, particularly in the study of gastric cancer and H. pylori pathogenesis, 20,[27][28][29] and the generation of human gastric organoids. 30 Recent reviews have discussed advances in techniques, 21 advances and discoveries in the area of cancer initiation, 28 however, the use of organoid models for studies on H. pylori biology, and innate inflammation have not been comprehensively reviewed since 2017. 31 Thus, this review aims to aggregate and discuss recent advances from studies with gastric organoids in terms of how H. pylori interacts with the gastric epithelium, triggers inflammation, and its role in the initiation of gastric cancer.…”