Researchers from the Hubrecht Institute have developed a new organoid that mimics the human fetal pancreas, offering a clearer view of its early development. The researchers were able to recreate a complete structure that includes the three key cell types in the pancreas, which previous organoids couldn’t fully mimic.
Notably, the team identified a new stem cell that develops into the three cell types. These findings, published in Cell on 2 December 2024, could help researchers better understand the pancreas and develop new treatments for pancreatic diseases in the future.
The pancreas has two main jobs: to help digest food and to manage blood sugar levels. For each of these tasks, the organ uses different types of cells. Scientist can study how the pancreas works by looking at organoids — tiny organs, about 1 mm in size that are grown in the lab. However, most organoids up until now could only exist of one type of cell at a time. This makes it harder for scientists to understand the pancreas as a whole. 'We wanted to create an organoid that includes all the cell types found in a real pancreas', explains Amanda Andersson Rolf, first author of the study. 'With such an organoid, we could study how these different cells interact and gain a deeper understanding of how the pancreas develops.'
Andersson Rolf and her fellow researchers used tissue from the pancreas to create a new three-dimensional organoid that imitates the human pancreas in its fetal stage.
The Hubrecht Institute - KNAW performs world-leading research in the field of developmental biology and stem cells. The research groups conduct fundamental, multidisciplinary research on healthy and diseased cells, tissues and organisms.
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