Organoids are not organs: Sources of variation and misinformation in organoid biology

Summary

In the past decade, the term organoid has moved from obscurity to common use to describe a 3D in vitro cellular model of a tissue that recapitulates structural and functional elements of the in vivo organ it models. The term organoid is now applied to structures formed as a result of two distinct processes: the capacity for adult epithelial stem cells to re-create a tissue niche in vitro and the ability to direct the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells to a 3D self-organizing multicellular model of organogenesis. While these two organoid fields rely upon different stem cell types and recapitulate different processes, both share common challenges around robustness, accuracy, and reproducibility. Critically, organoids are not organs. This commentary serves to discuss these challenges, how they impact genuine utility, and shine a light on the need to improve the standards applied to all organoid approaches.

Associated podcast

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Abstract

While organoids have been heralded as a breakthrough in the modeling of human disease, this review identifies the challenges with such models, provides commentary on risks from overinterpretation, and suggests approaches to improve the validity and hence genuine utility of organoid research outcomes.