Characterizing nasal organoids of 96-transwell format and coronavirus infections. Credit score: Proceedings of the Nationwide Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2509616122
A analysis staff has efficiently developed the world’s first nasal organoid-based SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody analysis platform.
The platform makes use of respiratory organoids that adequately mannequin viral an infection within the human respiratory tract, enabling correct evaluation of the effectiveness of antibodies and vaccines in opposition to SARS-CoV-2, the virus chargeable for COVID-19.
The analysis article, titled “Organoid-based neutralization assays reveal a distinctive profile of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and recapitulate the real-world efficacy,” is revealed in Proceedings of the Nationwide Academy of Sciences.
Evaluating the traditional cell line-based methodology often utilized by the scientific neighborhood and the organoid platform developed by HKUMed, Professor Yuen Kwok-Yung, Chair of Infectious Ailments and Henry Fok Professor in Infectious Ailments, a contributor to the examine, said, “Our examine revolutionizes the long-standing cell line-based strategies for evaluating antibody neutralization efficacy.
“By utilizing respiratory organoids, we will consider the therapeutic potential of neutralizing antibodies within the human physique extra precisely, offering extra dependable scientific proof for medical therapy.
“We hope this innovation will become the new gold standard for measuring the efficacy of neutralizing antibodies and vaccines against respiratory viruses.”
The US Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) is actively selling the adoption of organoid expertise in drug growth. Organoid-based preclinical security and efficacy evaluations have nice potential to fast-track antibody drug growth.
Professor Jane Zhou Jie, the Assistant Professor who led the analysis, defined, “There is growing evidence showing that experiments using cell lines do not truly reflect the actual effects of antibodies in the human body. Establishing a platform that closely mimics human physiology is therefore crucial for advancing drug development.”
HKUMed’s revolutionary platform is poised to change into an important instrument for evaluating antiviral medication and vaccines in opposition to respiratory viruses, accelerating the event of efficient therapies.
Pioneering respiratory organoid tradition system
In response to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, which started in early 2020, scientists from all over the world have quickly developed monoclonal antibodies concentrating on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to dam viral entry by stopping binding to the human ACE2 receptor. Many of those medication have obtained emergency use authorization for high-risk sufferers.
Since 2017, Professors Jane Zhou Jie, Division Chairperson Kelvin To Kai-wang, and Yuen Kwok-Yung have collaborated with Professor Hans Clevers of the Hubrecht Institute, a worldwide chief in organoid analysis, to determine a respiratory organoid tradition system utilizing lung stem cells and nasal epithelial cells.
By means of steady optimization, the staff developed standardized nasal, airway, and alveolar organoids, enabling the reconstruction and growth of full respiratory epithelial cells in laboratory settings.
These organoids have change into indispensable instruments for respiratory illness analysis and drug growth, providing extremely dependable fashions that carefully simulate the mobile composition and performance of human respiratory tissues.
The revolutionary respiratory organoid fashions and organoid-based functions gained Gold Medals on the Geneva Worldwide Exhibition of Innovations in each 2023 and 2025.
In contrast to conventional cell strains, these organoids faithfully simulate human airway tissues, providing a biologically related platform for evaluating antibody efficacy.
Exact analysis to empower antibody and vaccine growth
The analysis staff has pioneered using nasal organoids to evaluate neutralizing antibody exercise. This novel methodology has confirmed to be extra correct than conventional cell experiments. For instance, the antibody VIR-7831 confirmed restricted effectiveness in opposition to omicron variants in conventional cell line-based experiments, main the FDA to revoke its medical use.
Nevertheless, a number of medical trials later demonstrated its effectiveness in stopping extreme sickness and dying in the course of the omicron dominance.
HKUMed’s organoid platform mirrored these medical outcomes, revealing sturdy antiviral exercise conferred by VIR-7831 and associated antibodies. Equally, one other group of S2-targeting antibodies, efficient in animal experiments, confirmed considerably larger antiviral efficacy in organoids in comparison with cell line-based assays.
For the reason that ranges of viral receptor and protease in organoids carefully resemble these present in human respiratory tissues, these respiratory organoids can precisely predict the medical effectiveness of antibodies in people.
This not solely improves the efficacy evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies but in addition helps determine therapeutic antibodies and vaccines with actual medical potential, in the end facilitating the event of different antiviral medication and vaccines.
FDA promotes organoid expertise to speed up antibody growth
The FDA introduced a serious coverage shift in April this 12 months, encouraging using organoid expertise in drug growth and outlining plans to part out obligatory animal testing inside three to 5 years.
Professor Jane Zhou Jie commented, “As the founding team of the organoid platform, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of respiratory organoid technology. Using models that more closely mimic human physiology, we aim to foster transformative advances in the development of antiviral antibody drugs and vaccines with more accurate and efficient evaluation tools.”
Professor Kelvin To Kai-wang concludes, “Organoids will play a key role in the biomedical research and development of antiviral drugs and vaccines, further improving patient treatment outcomes and advancing scientific progress, ultimately contributing significantly to global public health.”
Extra data:
Zhixin Wan et al, Organoid-based neutralization assays reveal a particular profile of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and recapitulate the real-world efficacy, Proceedings of the Nationwide Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2509616122
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Organoid-based platform allows exact analysis of antibody and vaccine efficacy (2025, August 29)
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