A Novel Three-in-One Pancreatic Organoid

Good news!

"Organoids—tiny, lab-grown 3D clusters of cells—are a useful tool for studying organ development, disease, and drug responses. These miniature organs-in-a-dish are powerful, but they’re not perfect: Recreating the complex interplay of different cell types found in full-sized organs remains tricky.

For example, most pancreatic organoids only contain a single cell type, which makes it difficult for researchers to fully understand how different cell types work together in a functioning pancreas. ...

at the Hubrecht Institute, set out to build a better pancreatic organoid, she decided to include all three main cell types found in this organ. She would have to figure out how to co-culture acinar cells, which produce digestive enzymes, ductal cells, which transport these enzymes, and endocrine cells, which regulate blood sugar levels by releasing hormones. ..."

From the highlights and abstract:

"Highlights

• Human fetal pancreatic organoids (hfPOs) established from 8 to 17 GWs expand long-term

• hfPOs recapitulate the epithelial complexity of human fetal pancreas

• hfPOs generate functional acinar and endocrine cell lineages upon differentiation

• LGR5 marks tripotent stem cells, precursors to all exocrine and endocrine lineages

Summary

The mammalian pancreas consists of three epithelial compartments: the acini and ducts of the exocrine pancreas and the endocrine islets of Langerhans. Murine studies indicate that these three compartments derive from a transient, common pancreatic progenitor.

Here, we report derivation of 18 human fetal pancreas organoid (hfPO) lines from gestational weeks 8–17 (8–17 GWs) fetal pancreas samples.

Four of these lines, derived from 15 to 16 GWs samples, generate acinar-, ductal-, and endocrine-lineage cells while expanding exponentially for >2 years under optimized culture conditions.

Single-cell RNA sequencing identifies rare LGR5+ cells in fetal pancreas and in hfPOs as the root of the developmental hierarchy. These LGR5+ cells share multiple markers with adult gastrointestinal tract stem cells.

Organoids derived from single LGR5+ organoid-derived cells recapitulate this tripotency in vitro. We describe a human fetal tripotent stem/progenitor cell capable of long-term expansion in vitro and of generating all three pancreatic cell lineages."

A Novel Three-in-One Pancreatic Organoid | The Scientist "An innovative organoid model mirrors the pancreas' complexity, generating all three key cell types to explore development and possible regeneration."

Long-term in vitro expansion of a human fetal pancreas stem cell that generates all three pancreatic cell lineages (open access)

Graphical abstract

Figure 1 Establishment of hfPOs

Organ and tissue harvesting and sale from aborted fetuses in Western countries

I believe this is still largely a taboo subject! Many Westerner probably have heard of organ harvesting going on in China, but what about in Western countries?

To what extent is this actually happening in Western countries?

I am not sure the ethical issues surrounding this subject have been adequately addressed.

Caveat: I am not an expert on this subject and I did not have the time to do more research on it. However, this controversial subject has been in the public discourse for decades!

Yes, fetal tissue and organs might be a life saver or an important medical treatment option to some patients suffering from severe diseases etc. However, how far can we or should we go?

Cui bono? Who is profiting from it? 

E.g. are some women induced or incentivized to get pregnant and then to have an abortion for medical purposes? Is this legal? What are the applicable regulations etc.?

"... CMP [The Center for Medical Progress, Inc.] and Daleiden are responsible for the 2015 undercover video series documenting the harvesting and sale of aborted fetal body parts at major abortion clinics across the country. Amici’s investigative reporting exposed illegal transfers of aborted human fetal tissue in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 289g-2, coercion and abuse of pregnant patients through violations of informed consent and non-medical changes to patient treatment, and the use of illegal partial-birth abortions and even infanticide in the trafficking of later-gestation human fetuses for experimental use. Amici’s undercover videos with Planned Parenthood leadership identified the criminal companies DaVinci Biosciences and DV Biologics, who admitted guilt for illegally selling human fetal tissue for valuable consideration from abortions at Planned Parenthood in southern California and were shut down in a $7.8 million settlement with the Orange County District Attorney ..."
(Source Brief of amici curea submitted in the U.S. Supreme Court case 19-1392 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization)

Here is another example of the sometimes complicate ethics involved:
"... A twenty-six year old woman and her family were devastated when her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The man whom they loved was gradually being reduced to a man who at fifty-two years of age could barely care for himself. Desperate to stop the heartrending deterioration of the father, the family repeatedly suggested that the woman, the only female of childbearing age, become pregnant for the sole purpose of aborting the fetus. The family hoped that the doctors could then transplant the brain tissue of the aborted fetus into the father's brain, thereby alleviating many of the destructive symptoms of Alzeheimer's disease. ..."
(Source)