Research progress in organoids and applications / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

An organoid is a novel in vitro model, formed by self-organization of stem cells or tumor cells under three-dimension culture. It recapitulates many aspects of structural organization and functionality of its in vivo organ counterparts and maintains the stability of genetic materials under long-term culture, thus holding great promise for modeling disease, drug screening and personalized medicine. So far, normal and tumor organoids from structures such as esophagus, stomach, intestine, liver, pancreas and prostate and mammary gland have been established, providing a new culture platform in vitro. This article reviews the classification and biomedical applications of organoids.