human intestinal organoid passaging and maturation for drug development research

Matrix Comparison for Efficient Human Intestinal Organoid Generation from iPSCs

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a dynamic and multifunctional component of tissues that plays a central role in regulating cell behavior and development. As a complex network, it provides structural support, cell adhesive ligands1, and storage of growth factors and cytokines that regulate cell signaling. For example, during wound healing, the ECM serves as a scaffold for migrating cells and as a reservoir of growth factors involved in tissue repair2. Similarly, dysregulation in the ECM can lead to an increase in the severity of various diseases such as fibrosis and cancer3,4. During embryonic development, the ECM guides tissue morphogenesis. For example, in the development of the heart, ECM components play a role in creating the correct architecture and function of the heart tissue5. Over a decade of research has shown that the stiffness of the microenvironment alone6,7 can control stem cell lineage specification. Therefore, it is not surprising that during in vitro cell differentiation, ECM influences stem cell fate by providing signals for differentiation.
Organoids can be generated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Starting with a properly characterized iPSC line is required to generate organoids successfully. However, the lack of physiological cues in classical cell culture materials hinders efficient iPSC differentiation and organoid generation. Moreover, recent research has emphasized the significance of the composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM), interactions between cells and the ECM8, as well as mechanical and geometrical cues9,10,11 in the context of organoid expansion and differentiation12. Advancing organoid technology by improving reproducibility will involve incorporating tissue-specific physical and chemical cues.
Organoids aim to recapitulate the native tissue within a physiologically similar microenvironment. Choosing an ECM system that closely mimics the native tissue ECM is crucial for achieving physiological relevance regarding cell behavior, function, and response to stimuli13. The choice of ECM components can influence the differentiation of stem cells into specific cell types within the organoid. Different ECM proteins and their combinations can provide cues that guide cell fate14. For example, studies have shown that using specific ECM components can promote the differentiation of intestinal stem cells into mature intestinal cell types, resulting in physiologically relevant intestinal organoids15. While organoids are a valuable tool during disease modeling and drug testing, selecting an appropriate ECM system is pivotal to this application. An appropriate ECM system can enhance the accuracy of disease modeling by creating a microenvironment that resembles the affected tissue16. Furthermore, tissue-specific ECM can help generate organoids that better recapitulate disease-associated phenotypes and drug responses17. Optimizing the ECM system used in organoid differentiation is critical for achieving desired differentiation outcomes.
Commercially available basement membrane systems derived from animal ECM sources (e.g., Matrigel, Cultrex) and xeno-free hydrogel (e.g., VitroGel) are widely used in iPSC and organoid research. Companies that commercialize them and researchers that use them have laid out many instructions for their specific products and applications over the years. Many of these instructions served as a guide for the generation of this protocol. Furthermore, the benefits and setbacks associated with their intrinsic properties have been individually noted by many18,19,20,21. However, there is no systematic workflow to guide the selection of optimal systems for iPSC and organoid work. Here, a workflow to systematically evaluate the equivalency of ECM systems from various sources for iPSC and organoid work is provided. This is a comparative study of the maintenance of two different human iPSC lines (hiPSC) and human intestinal organoids (hIO) generation in four different matrices: Matrigel (Matrix 1-AB), Geltrex (Matrix 2-AB), Cultrex (Matrix 3-AB), and VitroGel (Matrix 4-XF). For organoid culture, four versions of the xeno-free matrix VitroGel that were previously optimized for organoid culture were used: ORGANOID 1 (Matrix 4-O1), ORGANOID 2 (Matrix 4-O2), ORGANOID 3 (Matrix 4-O3), ORGANOID 4 (Matrix 4-O4). Also, animal-derived matrices optimized for organoids were used: Matrigel High Concentration (Matrix 1-ABO) and Cultrex Type 2 (Matrix 3-ABO). Commercially available stem cell culture media (mTeSR Plus) and organoid differentiation kit (STEMdiff intestinal organoid kit) were used. This protocol combines the individual instructions from the products&#39; manufacturers with lab experiences to guide the reader toward a successful optimization of ECM for their specific iPSC and organoid work. Altogether, this protocol and representative results emphasize the importance of selecting the optimal microenvironment for stem cell work and organoid differentiation.

Author Spotlight: Advancing Organoid Generation for Drug Development Using iPSCs

Comparative Study of Basement-Membrane Matrices for Human Stem Cell Maintenance and Intestinal Organoid Generation

Our research aims to integrating vitro and in silico models to inform drug discovery and development at early stages of development. In a nutshell, we combine stem cell technology, organoids and microfluidics to investigate drug disease interactions, membrane integrity, and to predict drug absorption and drug metabolism. In our field, cutting edge technologies include physiological based in silicon models in combination with advanced in vitro systems like microphysiological system, like organs on a chip and organoids.Additionally to this, 3D bioprinting is currently being explored to maximize the scalability of these more complex in vitro models. Current experimental challenges include enhancing tissue microenvironments and physiological fidelity of these in vitro models, minimizing the experimental variability and optimizing high throughput capabilities. Also, establishing standardized protocols that are compliant with the regulatory standards for drug development.With the goal of decreasing the experimental variability, better mimicking the tissue microenvironment and adhere to the regulatory guidelines for human drug development, this protocol describe the optimization of an organoid generation and the maintenance of this organoid system using a cell-free hydrogel system with a control composition and control mechanical properties. We are interested in developing micro physiological systems to model in special populations, not well represented in clinical trials, like for example, people living with Down syndrome. Our lab is also working on bringing novel immuno-oncology based treatment approaches to new settings across gastrointestinal and lung cancers.

Human Intestinal Organoid Passaging and Maturation for Drug Development Research

Research

JoVE Journal

Bioengineering

Extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a critical role in cell behavior and development. Organoids generated from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) ...

Plate Preparation for the Culture of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells &#40;hiPSCs&#41;