Gastric Organoids: An Emerging Model System to Study Helicobacter pylori Pathogenesis

Helicobacter research classically uses fixed human tissue, animal models or cancer cell lines. Each of these study objects has its advantages and has brought central insights into the infection process. Nevertheless, in model systems for basic and medical research, there is a gap between two-dimensional and most often transformed cell cultures and three-dimensional, highly organized tissues. In recent years, stem cell research has provided the means to fill this gap. The identification of the niche factors that support growth, expansion and differentiation of stem cells in vitro has allowed the development of three-dimensional culture systems called organoids. Gastric organoids are grown from gastric stem cells and are organized epithelial structures that comprise all the differentiated cell types of the stomach. They can be expanded without apparent limitation and are amenable to a wide range of standard laboratory techniques. Here, we review different stem cell-derived organoid model systems useful for Helicobacter pylori research and outline their advantages for infection studies.