Medicine: Laboratory-grown ‘mini-colon’ used for cancer research | Nature | Nature Portfolio

A paper reports that an organoid model that faithfully reproduces colon cancer initiation has been created.NaturePublished in These cultured cells may help study the complex processes associated with tumor growth and facilitate the discovery of treatments.

Simplified organ cells (collectively known as “organoids”) have been grown in the laboratory and used to study the behavior of cancer cells. However, existing organoids are limited by their inability to model complex processes involving multiple cell types and multiple stages of tissue formation. Such complex studies need to be conducted in animal models, which are difficult to observe in real time at high resolution, and the ethical and economic costs are high.

Now, Matthias Lutolf and colleagues have developed an organoid model of colorectal cancer that can generate tumors in a laboratory setting. Exposure to blue light can trigger the organoids to develop cancerous tumors at predetermined locations, which can then be tracked at high resolution over several weeks. These cancer cells were shown to generate tumors with the same efficiency and pathology as cells from mice, making them a representative model for colon tumorigenesis in animals. Lutolf and colleagues speculate that these models could aid in the development and discovery of genetic targets and tumor suppressor drugs, providing a broader and richer picture of cancer progression than has been previously revealed by cell culture. ing.

These new technologies provide a flexible, high-resolution system for colorectal cancer research, capable of mimicking complex processes previously seen only in animal models. Applications of this technology could be used to study additional cancer types, providing a valuable experimental resource for this research field.

doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07330-2

“Highlights from Nature Magazines” is a translation of a release prepared for the press by the Nature Public Relations Department. If you require more accurate and detailed information, please be sure to refer to the original paper.

Return to “Notable Highlights” article list