HELSINKI, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- The University of Oulu in Finland announced on Thursday that its researchers have developed a new method to grow functional blood vessels within lab-grown mini-organs, known as organoids.
Organoids are small, simplified versions of organs created in the lab to mimic essential functions and structures of real organs. Adding blood vessels is crucial for making these organoids work more like real organs and enhancing their potential in medical research.
To create the blood vessels, researchers used a chicken embryo's chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) and a specialized "lab-on-a-chip" device. "When grown on the chicken embryo membrane, the blood vessels not only form but also connect to the chicken's circulatory system to receive oxygen," explained Seppo Vainio, a developmental biology professor at the University of Oulu.
A key breakthrough of this method, Vainio noted, is that vascularized organoids can be transferred to an artificial growth platform while keeping their blood vessel network intact.
This technique, tested on kidney organoids -- particularly challenging to vascularize -- marks a significant advancement in organoid technology. With functional blood vessels, these organoids behave more like real organs, making them especially valuable for studying diseases and testing new drugs. The University of Oulu believes this innovation could accelerate research on conditions like kidney disease, cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
