Fig. 1: Different organoids of the female reproductive tract derived from normal or tumor tissue.
From: Organoid modeling meets cancers of female reproductive tract
Isolated or reprogrammed stem cells were cultured in an ECM surrounded by a culture medium supplemented with niche factors specific to organoids. These stem cells proliferate in the culture medium and self-organize into functional 3D structures. The brightfield images shows the morphology of cervical adenocarcinoma organoids on day 0, day 3 and day 6. Cervical adenocarcinoma organoids show a more dense structure and marked vacuolation than normal cystic endocervical organoids. The organoid structure of cervical squamous cell carcinoma is less defined, with stratified loss and poor cell polarity. Endometrial carcinoma organoids usually appear as glandular-like morphology with a well-defined to moderately defined lumen, but with higher cancer stages the structure appears dense without lumen. Ovarian cancer organoids show extensive morphological differences among different histological subgroups. Most ovarian cancer organoids have a dense structure and contain multiple lumens. The structures of these organoids were mapped based on HE staining features.
