The Rural Development Administration headquarters (Image courtesy of the Rural Development Administration)
JEONJU, Nov. 15 (Korea Bizwire) – The Rural Development Administration (RDA) announced on November 14 that it has successfully created a three-dimensional organoid (mini-organ) resembling pig small intestine tissue by proliferating adult stem cells extracted from pig small intestines.
Organoid technology is emerging as a promising alternative to animal testing as ethical concerns and regulatory restrictions around animal experimentation continue to grow.
The newly developed 3D pig intestinal organoid closely resembles living tissue and shows strong expression of stem cell and epithelial cell markers typically found in the small intestine. Researchers also confirmed that the organoid cells can be penetrated by relatively small carbohydrate molecules.
To overcome the limitations of precise experimentation with 3D structures, the research team also established a two-dimensional intestinal epithelial cell model that maintains structural and functional similarities to living tissue.
The 2D epithelial cell model offers several advantages over its 3D counterpart, including easier access to the intestinal mucosa and reduced experimental variation. This makes it suitable for various applications, including nutrient absorption capacity testing and toxicity evaluations.
The model can be applied to research aimed at improving livestock productivity, including studies on feed efficiency enhancement, beneficial microorganism selection, feed safety assessment, and additive development.
The research findings were published in the first issue of the Journal of Animal Biotechnology, and a Korean patent application has been filed.
“The 2D intestinal epithelial cell model developed from the 3D pig intestinal organoid can serve as a practical alternative to animal testing,” said Yoo Jae-gyu, head of the Animal Biotechnology Division at the National Institute of Animal Science. “We expect it to significantly contribute to research on improving livestock productivity.”
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
