Revolutionizing Disease Modeling: The Emergence of Organoids in Cellular Systems

Abstract

Cellular models have created opportunities to explore the characteristics of human diseases through well-established protocols, while avoiding the ethical restrictions associated with post-mortem studies and the costs associated with researching animal models. The capability of cell reprogramming, such as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) technology, solved the complications associated with human embryonic stem cells (hESC) usage. Moreover, iPSCs made significant contributions for human medicine, such as in diagnosis, therapeutic and regenerative medicine. The two-dimensional (2D) models allowed for monolayer cellular culture in vitro; however, they were surpassed by the three-dimensional (3D) cell culture system. The 3D cell culture provides higher cell–cell contact and a multi-layered cell culture, which more closely respects cellular morphology and polarity. It is more tightly able to resemble conditions in vivo and a closer approach to the architecture of human tissues, such as human organoids. Organoids are 3D cellular structures that mimic the architecture and function of native tissues. They are generated in vitro from stem cells or differentiated cells, such as epithelial or neural cells, and are used to study organ development, disease modeling, and drug discovery. Organoids have become a powerful tool for understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying human physiology, providing new insights into the pathogenesis of cancer, metabolic diseases, and brain disorders. Although organoid technology is up-and-coming, it also has some limitations that require improvements.

Generation of heterozygous and homozygous NF1 lines from human-induced pluripotent stem cells using CRISPR/Cas9 to investigate bone defects associated with neurofibromatosis type 1

“…Human iPSCs have been widely used in various 2D disease modeling studies. The emergence of organoids in cellular systems has recently presented the possibility of mimicking the interactions between the different cell types in a closer physiological system ( Silva-Pedrosa et al, 2023 ). As NF1 implies gain-in osteoclast functions and impaired osteoblast differentiation, the use of 3D co-culture models using isogenic hiPSC-derived osteoclasts together with isogenic hiPSC-derived osteoblasts will be valuable for examining the interactions between cell types and for understanding the progression of skeletal defects in NF1 patients.…”

In vitro modelling of bacterial pneumonia: a comparative analysis of widely applied complex cell culture models

“…From all advanced cell culture models, organoids most closely mimic the in vivo situation due to their 3D-architecture based on human stem cells (Kim et al 2020 ). Physiological responses in organoids can be similar to those seen in human organs, giving these models high translational value (Kim et al 2020 , Silva-Pedrosa et al 2023 ).…”

Development of brain organoid technology derived from iPSC for the neurodegenerative disease modelling: a glance through

“…In light of the limits of researching the human brain, iPSC technology has recently been the subject of substantial research for neurological illnesses. Due to the direct generation of iPSCs from neurological illness patients, 2D and 3D models may be used to research nervous system disorders in vitro ( Silva-Pedrosa et al, 2023b ). Currently, iPSCs and neural stem cell cultures allow cell reprogramming and differentiation into neurones and glial cells (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia) that contribute to the modeling of neurodegenerative diseases as described in Figure 2 ; Korhonen et al, 2018 ).…”