Organoid culture systems to study host-pathogen interactions

- Organoids are excellent platforms to discover measures against emerging pathogens.
- Organoid models of ZIKV, C. difficle, and H. pylori infection have been established.
- Microinjection, co-cultures and monolayers are used for host-microbe studies.
- Triple co-cultures of immune cells, microbes and organoids are futuristic next steps.
- Organoids grown in synthetic matrices have more reproducibility and applicability.

Recent advances in host-microbe interaction studies in organoid cultures have shown great promise and have laid the foundation for much more refined future studies using these systems. Modeling of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in cerebral organoids have helped us understand its association with microcephaly. Similarly, the pathogenesis of bacterial (Helicobacter pylori, Clostridium difficile) and viral (Norovirus, Rotaviruses) infections have been precisely dissected in organoid cultures. Additionally, direct associations between microbial colonization of tissues and diseases like cancer have also been deciphered. Here we discuss the most recent and striking studies on host-microbe interactions in organoid cultures, highlighting various methods which can be used for developing microbe-organoid co-culture systems.