Innovation Showcase

Innovation Showcase Thursday lunchtime

Organoid cultures have redefined the type of biological data that can be obtained using in vitro models. These techniques enable researchers to maintain and manipulate cells that recapitulate many of the intra- and intercellular characteristics of their specific tissue-of-interest, including disease phenotypes. We have developed specialized, robust organoid culture kits that reduce the variability in these systems and make organoids a more accessible research tool. Enteroendocrine cells (EECs) are gastrointestinal nutrient-sensing cells that secrete hormones in response to nutrient ingestion. While EECs only comprise 1-2% of the intestinal epithelium, they are essential regulators of nutrient absorption. The mechanisms underlying how EECs control this process, however, are poorly understood. Using CRISPR/Cas9, we introduced a specific mutation in human pluripotent stem cells to generate human intestinal organoids lacking EECs. This organoid model system allowed us to investigate how EECs couple an epithelial-neurohormonal signal with nutrient and ion transport to regulate nutrient absorption. Generation of EEC-free intestinal organoids also provided insight on the potential role for ECCs in regulating intestinal cell differentiation.

Innovation Showcase: STEMCELL Technologies

Showcase Presenter(s)

• HM

  Heather McCauley

  Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Ohio, United States

Showcase Co-Presenter(s)

• RC

  Ryan Conder

  STEMCELL Technologies, British Columbia, Canada

Presentations:

• 11:30 - 12:30

  Innovation Showcase: GI TRACT ORGANOIDS: USING ADVANCED TISSUE MODELS TO INTERROGATE ABSORPTION AND REGULATION - STEMCELL Technologies