NF-κB Signaling in Ex-Vivo Mouse Intestinal Organoids

We describe here a protocol to assess NF-κB activation in ex-vivo organoids generated from mouse intestinal crypts. These structures are maintained in culture as crypt-villus forming organoids. These ex-vivo organoids maintain both self-renewal and multilineage differentiation overtime. We also describe the generation of ex-vivo organoids from Apc-mutated mouse intestinal crypts. Both wild-type and Apc-mutated organoids respond very well to NF-κB-activating signals such as TNFα but not to LPS. The kinetic of NF-κB activation in response to these signals in ex-vivo intestinal organoids is very similar to what we see in 2D cell lines. This protocol provides investigators a powerful tool to assess NF-κB activation in both healthy and transformed intestinal epitheliums maintained in culture as 3D structures.