Department of Pharmacology, AIIMS, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Indian J Pharmacol. 2020 Sep-Oct;52(5):422-429. doi: 10.4103/ijp.IJP_137_19.
Advances in stem cell cultures and human-induced pluripotent stem cells have inculcated interests in a rapidly evolving concept - "organoids." These are three-dimensional (3D) structures mimicking some of the phenomena of the real organs at anatomical, multicellular, and functional levels in vitro. Organoids have been proven to be better than two-dimensional cell culture in replicating the functionality, architectural, and geometrical features of tissues in vivo. Recent advancements have led to the generation of models for organ development and disease, finding applications in the drug discovery, screening of novel compounds, and personalized medicine. Since organoids follow the same natural pathway as the normal tissue or pathology, they can be used to study the expression of various genotypes and phenotypic variations across different species. In the light of these advancements, organoids are now being merged with bioengineering to come up with even better and reliable models to predict the disease progression and effectiveness of precision medicines, few of its important applications. This article discusses the various aspects of this emerging concept along with its uses, both in the present times and near future, with a special focus on pharmacological applications.
干细胞培养和人类诱导多能干细胞的进展激发了人们对一个快速发展的概念的兴趣，即“类器官”。这些是三维（3D）结构，在体外在解剖学、多细胞和功能水平上模拟真实器官的一些现象。类器官已被证明比二维细胞培养更能复制组织的功能、结构和几何特征。最近的进展导致了器官发育和疾病模型的产生，在药物发现、新型化合物筛选和个性化医学方面得到了应用。由于类器官遵循与正常组织或病理学相同的自然途径，它们可以用于研究不同物种之间各种基因型和表型变异的表达。鉴于这些进展，类器官现在正在与生物工程相结合，以提出更好、更可靠的模型来预测疾病进展和精准药物的疗效，这是其几个重要的应用之一。本文讨论了这个新兴概念的各个方面及其用途，包括现在和不久的将来的用途，特别关注药理学应用。
