New imaging technology enhances real-time observation of living organoids

Organoids, which are 3D miniature organs that mimic the structure and function of human organs, play an essential role in disease research and drug development. A Korean research team has overcome the limitations of existing imaging technologies, succeeding in the real-time, high-resolution observation of living organoids.

KAIST (represented by President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 14th of October that Professor YongKeun Park's research team from the Department of Physics, in collaboration with the Genome Editing Research Center (Director Bon-Kyoung Koo) of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS President Do-Young Noh) and Tomocube Inc., has developed an imaging technology using holotomography to observe live, small intestinal organoids in real time at a high resolution.

Existing imaging techniques have struggled to observe living organoids in high resolution over extended periods and often required additional treatments like fluorescent staining.

The research team introduced holotomography technology to address these issues, which provides high-resolution images without the need for fluorescent staining and allows for the long-term observation of dynamic changes in real time without causing cell damage.

The team validated this technology using small intestinal organoids from experimental mice and were able to observe various cell structures inside the organoids in detail. They also captured dynamic changes such as growth processes, cell division, and cell death in real time using holotomography.

Additionally, the technology allowed for the precise analysis of the organoids' responses to drug treatments, verifying the survival of the cells.

The researchers believe that this breakthrough will open new horizons in organoid research, enabling the greater utilization of organoids in drug development, personalized medicine, and regenerative medicine.

Future research is expected to more accurately replicate the in vivo environment of organoids, contributing significantly to a more detailed understanding of various life phenomena at the cellular level through more precise 3D imaging.

Dr. Mahn Jae Lee, a graduate of KAIST's Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, currently at Chungnam National University Hospital and the first author of the paper, commented, "This research represents a new imaging technology that surpasses previous limitations and is expected to make a major contribution to disease modeling, personalized treatments, and drug development research using organoids."

The research results were published online in the international journal Experimental & Molecular Medicine on October 1, 2024, and the technology has been recognized for its applicability in various fields of life sciences. (Paper title: "Long-term three-dimensional high-resolution imaging of live unlabeled small intestinal organoids via low-coherence holotomography")

This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea, KAIST Institutes, and the Institute for Basic Science.