Cultivating Ex Vivo Patient-Derived Glioma Organoids Using a Tissue Chopper.

Area of Science:

• Neuro-oncology
• Biotechnology
• Cancer Research

Background:

• Glioblastoma (GBM), IDH-wild type, CNS WHO grade 4, is an aggressive primary brain tumor with poor prognosis.
• Realistic ex vivo models are crucial for understanding GBM and developing treatments.
• Patient-derived organoid (PDO) models capture GBM heterogeneity but manual generation is inefficient.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present and evaluate an automated tissue chopper method for efficient GBM PDO production.
• To compare the time efficiency and PDO yield of automated versus manual dissection methods.
• To assess the quality of PDOs generated by both methods.

Main Methods:

• Tumor samples from GBM and astrocytoma patients were processed manually and using an automated tissue chopper at different angles.
• Organoids were cultured on an orbital shaker, and morphological changes were observed.
• Proliferation (Ki67) and apoptosis (CC3) were assessed via immunofluorescence after 6 weeks.

Main Results:

• The automated tissue chopper reduced manufacturing time by approximately 70%.
• Significantly higher PDO counts were observed from week 2 onwards with the automated method (e.g., week 4: 1195 vs. 784).
• Both methods yielded PDOs with comparable rates of proliferation and apoptosis.

Conclusions:

• Automated tissue choppers provide a more efficient and higher-yield method for GBM PDO production.
• This optimized PDO generation technique enhances potential for GBM drug and immunotherapy screening.
• The automated method addresses limitations of manual dissection, improving GBM modeling capabilities.