Breakthrough in artificial organ culture

On November 14, the University of Oulu in Finland announced that its researchers have developed a new method to create functional blood vessels inside organoids - miniature models of organs grown in the laboratory.

The University of Oulu in Finland announced that its researchers have developed a new method for creating functional blood vessels inside organoids. (Photo: oulu.fi).

Organoids , which have structures and functions similar to actual organs in the body, play an important role in biomedical research. However, creating a complete vascular system inside an organoid has always been a major challenge.

The team at the University of Oulu solved this problem by using the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of chicken embryos and a specialized device. When cultured on the CAM membrane, blood vessels in the organoids not only formed, but also connected to the circulatory system of the chicken embryo, providing enough oxygen for development, explains Seppo Vainio, professor of developmental biology at the University of Oulu.

The breakthrough of this method is the ability to maintain the vascular network when transferring the organoids to other artificial culture environments. The technique, tested on kidney organoids (which are particularly difficult to vascularize), marks a significant advance in organoid technology. With functional blood vessels, these organoids behave more like real organs, making them particularly valuable for studying diseases and testing new drugs. The University of Oulu believes that this method could help scientists accelerate research into kidney-related diseases, cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure.