Game Changer: A Simpler 3D Culture - Suspension Culture

Comparison of human intestinal mesothelial markers in organoids cultured in Matrigel, 1% alginate, and suspension

Scientists studying basic human development and function have experienced a renaissance over the past decade, thanks to structures called "organoids" -- developed from pluripotent stem cells grown in petri dishes Miniature 3D organ models to come

Organoids are derived from human pluripotent stem cells and can induce any cell type in the adult human body, and have become an important research tool for understanding human development and disease

Laboratory at the University of Michigan School of Medicine, led by Dr.

Past research has relied on a supportive gel called Matrigel to grow various types of micro-organs, which forms a 3D scaffold that allows different types of cells to develop into an organoid

"Matrigel is the gold standard for organoid culture, but it has limitations," explained Meghan Capeling, a doctoral candidate in Spence's lab and leader of the new study

In an earlier paper published in 2018, Capeling and her colleagues determined that intestinal organoids can be grown in a simpler, biologically inert gel of alginate because they can form their own supporting compartments Mesenchymal cells - In the developing fetus, these cells become connective tissue and smooth muscle

This finding led the team to wonder if these cells really needed a 3D growth environment

"It actually looks a bit like bubble tea," Capeling said, "it's just a normal tissue culture dish filled with growth medium

The next step for the research team is to see if these floating mini-guts actually function like the developing human gut.

"This is one of the first studies to understand specific regulators that may play a role in the normal development of the gut chorion

Given that abnormal development of the chorion can lead to birth defects, the team hopes to use the organoids to reveal how this tissue layer normally forms

“Suspension culture promotes serosal mesothelial development in human intestinal organoids,” Cell Reports .