Research in focus: human nasal epithelium organoids

Welcome to the first of the Melbourne Histology Platform's Researcher in Focus items, where we showcase recent research utilising histology techniques by researchers using MHP.

In this post, we highlight recent research from Melbourne Medical School researchers that produced human nasal epithelium organoids, which could serve as a model of human respiratory diseases in a dish!

Section of air-liquid interface differentiated human nasal epithelium tissue "Our research involves working with primary human nasal epithelial (HNE) organoids. It was a challenge to preserve the complex tissue architecture of air-liquid interface (ALI) differentiated HNE. The [Platform] helped us work out a immunohistochemistry protocol and embed and cut the slides – the H&E staining revealed the complexity of the pseudostratified epithelium with apical cilia and the presence of spheroids embedded within the epithelium with luminal cilia. The ALI-HNE recapitulate key features of the nasal epithelium, making them the perfect model for human respiratory infections, including SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19!"

Elizabeth Vincan (Professor) and Bang Tran (Research Fellow)
Department of Infectious Diseases, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne

See the journal publication here:
Tran BM, Grimley SL, McAuley JL, Hachani A, Earnest L, Wong SL, Caly L, Druce J, Purcell DFJ, Jackson DC, Catton M, Nowell CJ, Leonie L, Deliyannis G, Waters SA, Torresi J, Vincan E. Air-Liquid-Interface Differentiated Human Nose Epithelium: A Robust Primary Tissue Culture Model of SARS-CoV-2 Infection. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2022; 23(2):835. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23020835