Overview

• For the first time, scientists led by Professor Maike Sander have created vascularized organoids of stem cell-derived pancreatic islets, closely mimicking in vivo physiology.
• The vascularized organoids produce more mature β cells and significantly increase insulin secretion compared to non-vascularized models.
• Endothelial cells and fibroblasts in the organoids drive β cell maturation through extracellular matrix formation and BMP secretion.
• Microfluidic perfusion of vascularized organoids further enhances β cell maturity, demonstrating improved outcomes in diabetic mouse grafts, including reversal of diabetes symptoms.
• Ongoing research aims to integrate patient-derived immune cells with vascularized organoids to study autoimmune β cell destruction in type 1 diabetes.