The Organoid Research Core (ORC), located at The Assembly in Shadyside, contains a large collection of patient-derived organoids (PDOs) from both healthy and breast cancer tissue. PDOs are generated by dissociating tissue, embedding it in an extracellular matrix, then expanding it into a 3D structure. As a result, PDOs recapitulate the tissue they originated from in function, structure and biological complexity. PDOs serve as a valuable tool in personalized medicine applications, such as drug screening and disease modeling. At just over one year old, ORC already has a growing collection of more than 175 organoid models collected from more than 300 individual patients. Core staff provide training in organoid development and culture, and offer consultation services to assist with experimental design, execution and data analysis. For general inquiries or to initiate a project, fill out the core contact form: https://organoids.pitt.edu/contact.
Selected Projects
Carola Neumann, associate professor of pharmacology and chemical biology at the University of Pittsburgh, is part of a collaborative team investigating the potential of nitro fatty acids as a treatment for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), one of the most aggressive and drug-resistant forms of breast cancer. Neumann’s lab identified a promising nitro fatty acid molecule, called CP-8, that disrupts the RAD51 DNA repair pathway, which TNBC cells rely on to survive and resist treatment. Notably, CP-8 shows no toxicity to normal cells, making it a compelling potential treatment. With support from ORC, Neumann’s team tested CP-8 in organoids derived from TNBC tissues. Results were encouraging: Their CP-8 compound inhibited organoid growth in a concentration-dependent manner. Neumann emphasized ORC’s critical role in this project, from providing organoids to assisting with study design and data analysis. The team’s work with CP-8 has now progressed to animal studies, with the goal of advancing toward clinical trials.
Ronald Buckanovich, professor of medicine and Chair of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, and researcher at the Magee-Womens Research Institute, investigates therapy-resistant quiescent cancer cells (a state where cancer cells stop dividing and become inactive), which contribute significantly to cancer recurrence and mortality because these cells are less responsive to cancer therapies. His team used ORC to support a manuscript currently under review titled “Identification of the MRTFA/SRF Pathway as a Critical Regulator of Quiescence and Chemotherapy Resistance in Cancer.” The study found that hundreds of genes differentially expressed in quiescent ovarian cancer cells are transcriptional targets of the MRTFA/SRF pathway, and that both genetic disruption and pharmacologic inhibition using the compound CCG257081 can induce quiescence across multiple cancer types. To explore the broader applicability of this inhibitor, Buckanovich’s research team collaborated with ORC to test its effects in TNBC organoids, which also exhibited induced quiescence. The high-quality, timely data provided by ORC helped demonstrate the inhibitor’s potential across tumor types and supported the advancement of therapeutic development toward preclinical and clinical trials.