Open AccessAirway and Alveoli Organoids as Valuable Research Tools in COVID-19
Author(s) -
Mauro Dal Secco de Oliveira,
Maria Teresa De Síbio,
Felipe da Silva da Allan Costa,
Marna Eliana Sakalem
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acs biomaterials science and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.082
H-Index - 50
ISSN - 2373-9878
DOI - 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.1c00306
Subject(s) - organoid , covid-19 , biology , pandemic , respiratory system , in vivo , airway , coronavirus , lung , pathology , medicine , neuroscience , computational biology , disease , virology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , outbreak , anatomy , microbiology and biotechnology , surgery
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, affects tissues from different body systems but mostly the respiratory system, and the damage evoked in the lungs may occasionally result in severe respiratory complications and eventually lead to death. Studies of human respiratory infections have been limited by the scarcity of functional models that mimic in vivo physiology and pathophysiology. In the last decades, organoid models have emerged as potential research tools due to the possibility of reproducing in vivo tissue in culture. Despite being studied for over one year, there is still no effective treatment against COVID-19, and investigations using pulmonary tissue and possible therapeutics are still very limited. Thus, human lung organoids can provide robust support to simulate SARS-CoV-2 infection and replication and aid in a better understanding of their effects in human tissue. The present review describes methodological aspects of different protocols to develop airway and alveoli organoids, which have a promising perspective to further investigate COVID-19.