Gene

Cell biology

Organoid

Induced pluripotent stem cell

Biotechnology

Biology

Adherens junction

Stromal cell

Inflammatory bowel disease

Cancer research

Biochemistry

Immunology

Genetics

In vivo

Colitis

Embryonic stem cell

In vitro

Cadherin

Medicine

Ulcerative colitis

Cell

Disease

Pathogenesis

Pathology

Nature Communications

The pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC), a major type of inflammatory bowel disease, remains unknown. No model exists that adequately recapitulates the complexity of clinical UC. Here, we take advantage of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to develop an induced human UC-derived organoid (iHUCO) model and compared it with the induced human normal organoid model (iHNO). Notably, iHUCOs recapitulated histological and functional features of primary colitic tissues, including the absence of acidic mucus secretion and aberrant adherens junctions in the epithelial barrier both in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrate that the CXCL8/CXCR1 axis was overexpressed in iHUCO but not in iHNO. As proof-of-principle, we show that inhibition of CXCL8 receptor by the small-molecule non-competitive inhibitor repertaxin attenuated the progression of UC phenotypes in vitro and in vivo. This patient-derived organoid model, containing both epithelial and stromal compartments, will generate new insights into the underlying pathogenesis of UC while offering opportunities to tailor interventions to the individual patient.

Induced organoids derived from patients with ulcerative colitis recapitulate colitic reactivity