Miyabayashi, K. et al. Cancer Discov (2020). https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-0133

Human cell-derived organoids can be a step up from cell cultures, but they still lack physiological context. Xenotransplanting the 3D structures into immunodeficient mice can add that context, but how and where the transplantation occurs can impact translational relevance.

Researchers from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory previously established an orthotopically grafted organoid (OGO) model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a cancer with an extremely poor prognosis. The OGO mouse models, however, developed tumors in different cells and more quickly than PDAC patients. To better recapitulate PDAC, including its two recently characterized genetic subtypes, the lab developed a method to transplant patient-derived organoids directly into the relevant location in mice: the pancreatic duct. The resulting phenotypes in the intraductally grafted organoid (IGO) mouse models more accurately modeled both subtypes of PDAC.