Research applications of intestinal organoids in precision medicine

The three-dimensional organoid culture system has been widely used for studying adult stem cell self-renewal, differentiation and organ development. Recently, intestinal stem cells and crypts can be cultured and grow into crypt-villus organoid structures in matrigel supplemented with defined growth factors. These 3D multicellular intestinal organoids called “mini-gut” can recapitulate the key physiological features of an intestine: the crypt and villus domains, a functional lumen and all of the major cell types present in the adult intestinal epithelium. The 3D intestinal organoid culture system has also been successfully applied to human colorectal cancers (CRCs), and the majority of the CRCs successfully grow into CRC organoid. These organoids can be widely used to study many kinds of human intestinal diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), intestine regeneration and CRCs. Therefore, here we discussed the latest research of intestinal stem cells, organoid culture and tumor organoids. We also highlighted practical applications of organoids in various aspects, ranging from modeling human diseases to precision medicine such as tissue regeneration, gene therapy and personalized medicine.