Human-Organoid-Based <i>In Vitro</i> Modeling for Environmental Toxicology

Environmental pollutants pose significant health risks and elevate the likelihood of developing diseases. Organoid-based models offer the potential to transform environmental toxicology by offering platforms that closely mimic human physiology for precise toxicological assessments. Here, we discuss recent studies utilizing human-derived organoids as a preferable in vitro model for screening environmental toxins. We also address the persistent challenges arising from the pluripotent nature of their cellular origin. Furthermore, we emphasize future perspectives regarding the utility of organoids in understanding the intricate interactions between environmental pollutant exposure and human health by considering both ad hoc modifications and post hoc analyses. Overall, exploring human-organoid-based in vitro models holds promise for environmental toxicology, offering reproducible, reliable, and relevant data comparable to those from in vivo studies.环境污染物可对人体健康造成严重危害，并显著提升人类罹患各类疾病的概率。基于类器官（Organoid）的模型能够搭建高度模拟人体生理状态的实验平台，用于开展精准的毒理学评估，有望革新环境毒理学的研究范式。本文探讨了近期以人类源类器官作为优选体外（in vitro）模型开展环境毒素筛选的相关研究，同时剖析了其细胞起源具有多能性特性所带来的持续性挑战。此外，本文着重阐述了类器官在解析环境污染物暴露与人类健康之间复杂交互作用研究中的应用前景，兼顾定制化改造与事后分析两类研究路径。总体而言，探索基于人类源类器官的体外模型可为环境毒理学研究提供极具潜力的技术方案，其所生成的数据具备可重复性、可靠性与相关性，可与体内（in vivo）实验获得的数据相媲美。