Organoids are three-dimensional (3D) structures derived from adult or embryonic stem cells that maintain many structural and functional features of their respective organ. Recently, genome editing based on the bacterial defense mechanism CRISPR/Cas9 has emerged as an easily applicable and reliable laboratory tool. Combining organoids and CRISPR/Cas9 creates exciting new opportunities to study organ development and human disease in vitro. The potential applications of CRISPR in organoids are only beginning to be explored.
Keywords: CRISPR/Cas9; gene editing; organoid.
Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.