Applications of Organoid Technology 2021

Applications of Organoid Technology is a one-week intensive course offered by MDI Biological Laboratory in partnership with Hubrecht Organoid Technology (The HUB), a non-profit organization based in the Netherlands. The HUB is founded on the pioneering work of Prof. Dr. Hans Clevers who discovered methods to grow stem cell-derived human epithelial ‘mini-organs’ (organoids) from tissues of patients with various diseases including: colon, breast, lung, and pancreatic cancers, and cystic fibrosis. In 2020, we are also introducing a practical demonstration using iPS-derived kidney organoids.

Lately, several technological advances have prompted the development of improved methods to establish and expand cells in 3D in vitro cultures as models for understanding complex biological questions. Among these “next generation” culture systems that circumvent some of the limitations of traditional two-dimensional cell cultures, is the adult stem cell-based Organoid Technology.

Key to the development of the Organoid Technology was the discovery of LGR5+ intestinal adult stem cells by the Clevers lab. When provided with the appropriate growth factors, LGR5+ cells were found to form a polarized epithelium in which stem cells, dividing daughter cells and differentiated cells maintain their natural hierarchical and functional role. Importantly, organoids are both genetically and phenotypically stable during prolonged periods of cell culture and are amenable to all standard experimental manipulations, including high through-put drug screen, and therefore, hold great promise as models that will more accurately recapitulate biological processes and interactions.

In this course, participants learn all the basic and essential techniques needed to culture human organoids from different diseases models. Furthermore, participants learn how to perform established assays such forskolin-induced swelling or cell viability with organoids derived from cystic fibrosis and cancer models. Researchers will be able to use the skills they learn in this course to set up organoid technology in their own laboratories.