Vascular Organoid Generation from Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Summary

This protocol presents a method for generating vascular organoids using human pluripotent stem cells.

Abstract

Vascular organoids derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) recapitulate the cell type diversity and complex architecture of human vascular networks. This three-dimensional (3D) model holds substantial potential for vascular pathology modeling and in vitro drug screening. Despite recent advances, a key technical challenge remains in reproducibly generating organoids with consistent quality, which is crucial for downstream assays and applications. Here, a modified protocol is presented that improves both the homogeneity and reproducibility of vascular organoid generation. The modified protocol incorporates the use of microwells and the CEPT cocktail (chroman 1, emricasan, polyamines, and the integrated stress response inhibitor, trans-ISRIB) to improve embryoid body formation and cell survival. Differentiated, mature vascular organoids generated using this protocol are characterized by whole-mount 3D immunofluorescence microscopy to analyze their morphology and complex vasculature. This protocol enables the production of high-quality vascular organoids in a scalable manner, potentially facilitating their use in disease modeling and drug screening applications.

Introduction

In vitro microphysiological models, including organoid and tissue-on-a-chip systems, have emerged over the past decade^1,2,3. These three-dimensional (3D), human cell-derived systems address the limitations in conventional two-dimensional (2D) cell culture and animal models, such as the lack of many components in the physiological microenvironment and genetic differences across species, respectively. They provide more physiological insights and are more suitable for disease modeling and drug screening than conventional models. Among the microphysiological models, orga....

Protocol

Figure 1 presents an overview of the steps involved in this protocol. Detailed information regarding the reagents and materials utilized in this protocol is given in the Table of Materials. It is recommended that all the media should be prewarmed at 37 °C before use unless specified otherwise. All the cell culture materials and supplies should be either autoclaved or sterile, and cell handling should be done in a biosafety cabinet. Additionally, the pH value of the collagen I mixture should be carefully adjusted to pH 7.3 to avoid possible solidification issues.

1. Human iPSC mainten....

Results

Figure 1A presents the scheme of this protocol, including the key components used in each stage. The differentiation started with the EB formation, followed by mesoderm induction and vascular lineage specification (Figure 1B-D). The aggregates grew larger and less spherical over time. Organoids started showing rough edges on Day 5. After embedded in the collagen I-basement membrane matrix mixture, vascular endothelial cells and .......

Discussion

The described protocol includes two key modifications for homogenous and reproducible generation of high-quality vascular organoids. The first modification is the use of a microwell plate to enable better control of the EB uniformity. As a starting point of vascular differentiation, the size of EBs is critical as it regulates the stem cell fate and differentiation efficacy towards different lineages. Variations in EB size usually lead to heterogeneous organoids with inconsistent structure and organization

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
2-Mercaptoethanol (1000x)	Gibco	21985023
Accutase	Sigma-Aldrich	A6964
Alexa Fluor 488 AffiniPure F(ab')2 Fragment Donkey Anti-Rabbit IgG (H+L)	Jackson Immuno Research Labs	711-546-152	reconstitute with 0.25 mL 50% glycerol,  store at -20 °C for up to 1 year, dilution ratio for use: 1:1000
Alexa Fluor 647 AffiniPure F(ab')2 Fragment Donkey Anti-Goat IgG (H+L)	Jackson Immuno Research Labs	705-606-147	reconstitute with 0.25 mL 50% glycerol,  store at -20°C for up to 1 year, dilution ratio for use: 1:1000
B27 supplement minus vitamin A (50x)	Gibco	12587010	thaw at 4 °C, aliquot and store at -20 °C, avoid freeze-thaw cycle
BMP4	ProSpec	CYT-081	reconstitute with sterile ddH2O at a concentration of 100 ng/µL, aliquot and store at -20 °C
CD31 antibody	abcam	ab28364	dilution ratio: 1:400
Centrifuge	Eppendorf	022626001
CHIR99021	Tocris Bioscience	4423/10	make the stock solution at 12 mM with DMSO, and store at -20 °C for up to 1 year.
Chroman 1	Tocris	7163/10	make the stock solution at 100 µM with DMSO, and store at -20 °C for up to 1 year.
Collagen I	Corning	40236
Confocal Microscope	Nikon	AXRMP/Ti2
Corning Elplasia Plates	Corning	4441
Countess II FL automated cell counter	Thermo Fisher	AMQAF1000
DMEM/F-12, GlutaMAX supplement	Gibco	10565018
DMEM/F-12, powder	Gibco	12500062	make 10x stock solution with biograde ddH2O and sterilize it with a 0.2 µm filter. Store at 4 °C.
Edi042A	Cedars Sinai
Emricasan	Medchemexpress LLC	HY1039610MG	make the stock solution at 1 mM with DMSO, and store at -20 °C for up to 1 year.
ERG antibody	Cell Singali Technology	97249	dilution ratio: 1:400
Fetal Bovine Serum - Premium	Atlanta Biologicals	S11150	thaw at 4 °C  and aliquot, store at  -20 °C for up to five years, or store at 4 °C for up to a month
FGF2	ProSpec	CYT557	reconstitute with sterile ddH2O at a concentration of 100 ng/µL, aliquot and store at -20 °C
Fluorodish Cell Culture Dish	World Precision Instruments	FD35-100
Forskolin	Tocris Bioscience	1099	reconstitute with DMSO at a concentration of 12 mM, aliquot and store at -20 °C
Gentamicin (50 mg/mL)	Gibco	15710064
GlutaMAX supplement (100x)	Gibco	35050061
Heparin, 100 kU	MilliporeSigma	375095100KU	reconstitute with sterile ddH2O at a concentration of 4 kU/mL
HEPES (1 M)	Gibco	15630080
Incubator	Thermo Scientific	13998123
Knockout Serum Replacement	Gibco	10828028	thaw at 4 °C, aliquot and store at -20°C, avoid freeze-thaw cycle
Matrigel, GFR Basement Membrane Matrix	Corning	356230	thaw at 4 °C, aliquot and store at -80°C, avoid freeze-thaw cycle
MEM Non-Essential Amino Acids Solution (NEAA, 100x)	Gibco	11140050
Molecular Biology Grade Water	Corning	46000CV
mTeSR plus kit	STEMCELL Technologies	1001130	thaw at 4 °C, aliquot and store at -20°C, avoid freeze-thaw cycle
N2 supplement (100x)	Gibco	17502048	thaw at 4 °C, aliquot and store at -20°C, avoid freeze-thaw cycle
NaOH solution (1 M)	Cytiva HyClone	SH31088.01
NeuroBasal medium	Gibco	21103049
NIS-Elements, ver 5.42	Nikon
Normal Donkey Serum	Jackson Immuno Research Labs	17000121	reconstitute with 10 mL sterile ddH2O, store at 4 °C for up to two weeks
paraformaldehyde, 20%	Electron Microscopy Sciences	15713S	dilute with PBS
PBST, 20x	Thermofisher	28352
PDGFRβ antibody	R&D	AF385	dilution ratio: 1:400
polyamine supplement (1000x)	Sigma-Aldrich	P8483
Rapiclear clearing reagent, 1.49	SUNJIN LAB	RC149001
Sodium Bicarbonate (7.5%)	Gibco	25080094
Sodium deoxycholate monohydrate	Thermofisher	J6228822	dissolve with ddH2O for 1% (wt/v) stock solution
TBST, 20x	Thermofisher	28360
trans-ISRIB	Tocris Bioscience	5284/10	make the stock solution at 1 mM with DMSO, and store at -20°C for up to 1 year.
Tritin X-100	Sigma-Aldrich	T8787-50ML
Trypan Blue Stain (0.4%)	Thermo Fisher	15250061
Tween 20	Sigma-Aldrich	P7949-100ML
VEGF-A	ProSpec	CYT-116	reconstitute with sterile ddH2O at a concentration of 100 ng/µL, aliquot and store at -20°C