Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026
Combining Human Organoids and Organ-on-a-Chip Technology to Model Intestinal Region-Specific Functionality
Published on: May 5, 2022
Guiding Principles: Current Practices and Considerations for Benchmarking Human Gastrointestinal Organoids.
Monica E Brown1, Antoine R Gleizes2, Qianhui Yu3
1Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee; Epithelial Biology Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee; Center for Computational Systems Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.
Human gastrointestinal (GI) organoids are powerful models for studying gut biology and disease. This commentary addresses challenges and proposes a framework for benchmarking these organoids against native GI tract biology for improved accuracy.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology and Hepatology
- Developmental Biology
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Human small intestinal and colonic organoids, derived from primary tissues or pluripotent cells, have become increasingly accessible models for studying gastrointestinal (GI) biology and disease since 2011.
- The growing use of organoids necessitates a thorough evaluation of their accuracy and limitations in representing native GI tract biology across diverse experimental settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To outline the current landscape and challenges in benchmarking human small intestinal and colonic organoids against native GI tract biology.
- To propose a conceptual framework for multi-scale organoid benchmarking.
- To review existing methods for assessing organoid-tissue similarities and discuss future directions for validating organoids as high-fidelity GI models.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature and established methodologies in organoid culture and analysis.
- Development of a conceptual framework for systematic organoid benchmarking.
- Discussion of current and emerging techniques for comparing organoid characteristics to native GI tissues.
Main Results:
- Identified significant challenges in accurately representing native GI tract biology using current organoid models.
- Presented a multi-scale conceptual framework to guide the benchmarking process.
- Highlighted the need for standardized assays to assess similarities between organoids and their source tissues.
Conclusions:
- Benchmarking human small intestinal and colonic organoids against native GI biology is crucial for ensuring their reliability as research models.
- Standardized validation approaches are required to establish organoids as reproducible and high-fidelity models of the human GI tract.
- Future research should focus on developing and implementing robust methods for organoid validation to advance GI research and disease understanding.
