Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal.
ICVS/3B's-PT Government Associate Laboratory, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal.
Cells. 2023 Mar 18;12(6):930. doi: 10.3390/cells12060930.
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.
细胞模型通过成熟的方案为探索人类疾病的特征创造了机会,同时避免了与死后研究相关的伦理限制和与研究动物模型相关的成本。细胞重编程的能力,如诱导多能干细胞 (iPSC) 技术,解决了人类胚胎干细胞 (hESC) 使用相关的并发症。此外,iPSC 为人类医学做出了重大贡献,如在诊断、治疗和再生医学方面。二维 (2D) 模型允许体外单层细胞培养;然而,它们被三维 (3D) 细胞培养系统所超越。3D 细胞培养提供了更高的细胞间接触和多层细胞培养,更接近细胞形态和极性。它更紧密地能够模拟体内条件,更接近人类组织的结构,如类器官。类器官是模拟天然组织结构和功能的 3D 细胞结构。它们是从干细胞或分化细胞(如上皮细胞或神经细胞)体外生成的,用于研究器官发育、疾病建模和药物发现。类器官已成为理解人类生理学背后的细胞和分子机制的有力工具,为癌症、代谢疾病和大脑疾病的发病机制提供了新的见解。尽管类器官技术正在兴起,但它也存在一些需要改进的局限性。