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A C

B
D

Figure 4. Hydrogels that adapt to the gastrointestinal physiology have become new alternatives for cultivation. (A) Preparation of GI tissue-derived
ECM hydrogels for GI organoid culture. (B) Transcriptomic profiles of GI organoids cultured in GI tissue-derived ECM hydrogels. Image used with
permission from Kim et al., Copyright © 2022, Nature Publishing Group. (C) One-step synthesis of CHCs that allows the engineering of hiPSC-
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derived liver organoids in an oil-free droplet microfluidic system. (D) Identification of differentiation and hepatic functions of liver organoids in CHCs.
Immunohistochemical staining of hepatocyte markers (ALB, CYP3A4) and cholangiocyte markers (CK7, CK19) in liver organoids. Reprinted from
image used with permission from Wang et al., Copyright © 2020, ROYAL SOCIETY OF CHEMISTRY.
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Abbreviations: CHCs: Composite hydrogel capsules; ECM: Extracellular matrix; GI: Gastrointestinal; hiPSC: Human induced pluripotent stem cells.
differentiation, and generation of functional liver organoids difficult. In addition, culturing and expanding PHs while
from hiPSC. The composite hydrogel capsules exhibit high preserving liver function remains a bottleneck in this field.
biocompatibility, stability, uniformity, and high-throughput PHs are prone to losing their functional characteristics and
capabilities, supporting 3D culture, assembly, and organoid are difficult to culture and expand over extended periods.
formation in a mild aqueous environment. Liver organoids Advancing bioengineering technologies to reconstruct
produced in these capsules show excellent growth, more complex liver structures is essential. This includes
uniform size, and liver-specific functionality (Figure 4D). the accurate replication of hepatic lobule zonation and the
The hydrogel capsule system provides a controllable and development of sophisticated 3D multicellular systems to
stable 3D scaffold for high-throughput and reproducible mimic the authentic liver environment.
organoid generation, addressing the limitations of
traditional methods. This new system has significant 4.4. Urinary system
implications for organoid research by integrating stem cell 4.4.1. Kidney
biology. 118
One of the most complex human organs, kidneys,
The complex structure of the liver, particularly the features a sophisticated tree-like structure comprising
organization of hepatic lobules, presents significant 23 differentiated cell types. These cell types form distinct
challenges for precise in vitro reconstruction. Generating anatomical compartments, including blood vessels, stroma,
multiple ordered lobular structures with liver functions is collecting ducts, and nephron segments. 119,120 At present,

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2025) 13 doi: 10.36922/or.8262