Generation of 3D human gastrointestinal organoids: principle and applications

The stomach and intestine are important organs for food digestion, nutrient absorption, immune protection and hormone production. Gastrointestinal diseases such as cancer and ulcer are big threats to human health. Appropriate disease models are in sore need for mechanistic understanding and drug discovery. Organoids are three-dimensional in vitro cultured structures derived from tissues and pluripotent stem cells with multiple types of cells and mimicking in vivo tissues in major aspects. They have a great potential in regenerative medicine and personalized medicine. Here, we review the major signaling pathways regulating gastrointestinal epithelial homeostasis, summarize different methods to generate human gastrointestinal organoids and highlight their applications in biological research and medical practice.