Among endocrine organoids, pancreatic β-cell organoids attract significant research attention. Nevertheless, various organoids have differentiated into the thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal gland, gonads, and kidney. In this manuscript, we outline the concept of recapitulating fetal development in vitro, using hypothalamus-pituitary organoids as a representative model. Within a single organoid, the hypothalamus and pituitary gland co-develop, undergo maturation, and establish functional interactions. This system readily serves as a disease model, and with further technological advancements, it holds significant potential for applications in regenerative medicine. Looking ahead, we aim to develop more complex and diverse hypothalamus-pituitary organoids encompassing wider anatomical regions, thereby consolidating the mechanisms governing systemic homeostasis into a single integrated structure.
Suga et al. (Thu,) studied this question.