The historical reliance of biological research on the use of animal models has sometimes made it challenging to address questions that are specific to the understanding of human biology and disease. But with the advent of human organoids — which are stem cell-derived 3D culture systems — it is now possible to re-create the architecture and physiology of human organs in remarkable detail. Human organoids provide unique opportunities for the study of human disease and complement animal models. Human organoids have been used to study infectious diseases, genetic disorders and cancers through the genetic engineering of human stem cells, as well as directly when organoids are generated from patient biopsy samples. This Review discusses the applications, advantages and disadvantages of human organoids as models of development and disease and outlines the challenges that have to be overcome for organoids to be able to substantially reduce the need for animal experiments.

生物学研究对动物模型使用的历史依赖有时使挑战性的问题变得难以解决，这些问题专门针对人类生物学和疾病的理解。但是随着人类类器官的出现-它们是干细胞衍生的3D培养系统-现在可以重现人体器官的结构和生理结构。人类类器官为研究人类疾病和补充动物模型提供了独特的机会。人类类器官已被用于通过人类干细胞的基因工程研究传染病，遗传性疾病和癌症，以及直接从患者活检样本中产生类器官的研究。本评论讨论了应用程序，