A research team in Japan has developed three-dimensional (3D) “mini organs” from human stem cells to model the lacrimal glands, or tear ducts, which are dysfunctional in Sjögren’s syndrome. The first of their kind, these new mini organs, or organoids, can be used in the future to study disease mechanisms and develop new treatments for Sjögren’s syndrome and other diseases characterized by eye dryness. “This advance holds promise for future studies of lacrimal gland development and for use in future regenerative therapies to treat disorders such as Sjögren’s syndrome,” the researchers wrote in their study, “Generation of 3D lacrimal gland organoids from human pluripotent stem cells,” which was published in the journal Nature.
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