Organoids are not organs: Sources of variation and misinformation inorganoid biology.

Abstract

In the past decade, the term organoid has moved from obscurity to common use to describe a 3D invitro cellular model of a tissue that recapitulates structural and functional elements of the invivo organ it models. The term organoid is now applied to structures formed as a result of two distinct processes: the capacity for adult epithelial stem cells to re-create a tissue niche invitro and the ability to direct the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells to a 3D self-organizing multicellular model of organogenesis. While these two organoid fields rely upon different stem cell types and recapitulate different processes, both share common challenges around robustness, accuracy, and reproducibility. Critically, organoids are not organs. This commentary serves to discuss these challenges, how they impact genuine utility, and shine a light onthe need to improve the standards applied to all organoid approaches.