A Living Organoid Biobank of Crohn’s Disease Patients Reveals Distinct Clinical Correlates of Molecular Subtypes of Disease

Read the full article See related articles

Listed in

This article is not in any list yet, why not save it to one of your lists.
Log in to save this article

Abstract

Current clinical decision-making lacks reliable preclinical models to predict patient outcomes. Here, we establish patient-derived organoids (PDOs) as predictive tools in Crohn’s disease (CD), a complex, heterogeneous disorder. Using a living biobank of adult stem cell-derived colonic-PDOs, we identified two molecular CD subtypes—Immune-Deficient Infectious CD ( IDICD ) and Stress and Senescence-Induced Fibrostenotic CD ( S2FCD )—each with distinct genomic, transcriptomic and functional profiles, along with paired therapeutics. By prospectively linking colonic PDO-derived phenotypes to real-world patient outcomes, we uncovered that while S2FCD associates with severe colonic disease, IDICD associates with severe ileal disease, prior ileocecal surgery, and future disease progression. This approach transforms PDOs from static descriptive models into dynamic tools that capture the past, present, and future of disease behavior and reveals their utility as patient-specific predictive platforms, extending their use beyond oncology to complex inflammatory diseases. Findings also suggest that colonic immune dysfunction may drive ileal-CD, independent of colonic involvement.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

In Brief

In this work, Penrose et al. demonstrate the potential of patient-derived organoids (PDOs) as predictive tools in Crohn’s disease (CD) that capture the past, present, and future of disease behavior, thereby advancing PDO-informed precision medicine beyond oncology into complex inflammatory diseases.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • A living PDO biobank identified two molecular CD subtypes with distinct functional phenotypes.

  • PDO subtyping tracked severity of ileal disease, prior surgery and future disease progression.

  • Colonic immune dysfunction may drive ileal-CD, independent of colonic involvement.

  • Colonic CD-PDOs are dynamic platforms for outcome-deterministic therapeutic testing.

Article activity feed