Intestinal and Salivary Gland Organoids Reveal Stem Cell Niche Signals and Secretory Cell Fate Controls

An ImmuneZoom expert lecture covered human intestinal organoids, in which LGR5+ stem cells at the crypt base differentiate into absorptive enterocytes and secretory lineages, and showed that human Paneth cells, unlike those in mice, may not be the source of Wnt for stem cells. Base-editing the IL-22 receptor in organoids abolished IL-22-induced Paneth differentiation, and knocking out ZNF800 sharply increased chromogranin A+ enteroendocrine cells while depleting goblet cells. Submandibular gland organoids retained original gland heterogeneity and supported HCoV-229E infection, offering a platform for studying homeostasis-inflammation transitions.