Abstract

Engineering Airway Tubes via Guided Self-Assembly

Yan Yan Shery Huang, University Lecturer in Bioengineering, University of Cambridge

Organoids are self-organizing micro-tissues that mimic the basic structure and function of an organ unit. In recent years, organoids have become instrumental for the study of organ development, function and disease. They have also become an important assay system for testing therapeutic approaches.  Epithelial organoids grown from isolated, single stem cells in a three-dimensional Matrigel® culture typically develop into a microscopic cystic structure with a polarised epithelium and a hollow centre. Here, we use adult basal stem cells of the mouse trachea to introduce a simple protocol for guided organoid self-assembly, to generate macroscopic, single lumen organoids with the aim to engineer larger tissue units. The engineering process results in a high success rate that gives rise to macroscopic tube-like structures with several millimetres in length. Here we analyse the assembly process by immunohistochemistry and time-lapse imaging. Our preliminary work shows that this engineered organoid assembly process opens up the possibility for generating a perfusable trachea-on-a-chip.