Inside Out: Unlocking the Hidden Apical Surface of Organoids for High-Resolution Imaging

Inside Out: Unlocking the Hidden Apical Surface of Organoids for High-Resolution Imaging

Time: 11:00 a.m. EST | 2:00 p.m. PST

Traditional organoids hide their functional apical surface in an inaccessible lumen, creating an imaging "black box." We've discovered that phospholipids LPA and S1P—found in serum and CSF—flip organoids inside-out within 24 hours via GPCR/RhoA signaling. This exposes the apical surface for high-resolution whole-mount imaging of tight junctions, cilia, and subcellular structures without cryosectioning. The stable, ECM-free platform works across brain, lung, and intestinal tissues, revolutionizing organoid imaging and functional studies.

You will learn about:

• LPA and S1P as universal polarity switches: These phospholipids in serum and CSF reverse organoid orientation within 24 hours via GPCR/RhoA signaling, externalizing the apical surface across brain, lung, and intestinal tissues.
• High-resolution subcellular imaging: Apical-out organoids enable 60x whole-mount confocal imaging of tight junctions, primary cilia, and microtubules without cryosectioning.
• Long-term experimental stability: Reversed polarity persists for over one month, supporting extended longitudinal studies of barrier function and morphology.
• Streamlined, cost-effective workflow: This ECM-free approach eliminates expensive hydrogels and labor-intensive processing while providing a versatile platform for disease modeling.

A live Q&A session will follow the presentation, hosted by Andrew Tidball, Research Assistant Professor of Neurology at University of Michigan and Lynsey Hamilton, Market Development Specialist at Oxford Instruments .