Organoids — Preclinical Models of Human Disease

To the Editor:

Li and Izpisua Belmonte comprehensively review the translational potential of organoid technology, including the ability to create microtissues with the use of scaffold-free synthesis, bioprinted scaffolds, or biopolymers. Similarly, three-dimensional printing techniques include additive manufacturing of unmodified as well as bioactivated materials; these techniques enable organoid studies of complex microenvironments that may be more clinically relevant.^1,2 Three-dimensional printed templates can be used to construct tailored organoid systems such as organoid “cages,” cell exclusion spacers, multicellular invasion systems, and high-throughput cell-culture wells that incorporate bioactive agents.^2-4 Merging such three-dimensional printed design elements into trials of organoids would permit exceptionally diverse biomimetic cellular interactions and more uniform localized drug release systems for organoid pharmacodynamic models. Such constructs are easy to customize and can be produced with commercial three-dimensional printers using preexisting design templates. They can be shared with other researchers to ensure a high level of interlaboratory reproducibility. The modular and scalable features of three-dimensional printing support its imminent usefulness in fabricating experimental organoids and its potential in preclinical and clinical testing.