Pulmonary organoids currently represent the most accurate in vitro model for mimicking the structure and function of the human lung, serving as a transformative tool in respiratory research and medical practice. However, their broad application is hindered by several challenges, including limited maturity, lack of standardization, unclear regulatory pathways, high costs, and difficulties in scaling production. This review systematically outlines the current research status and development trends of pulmonary organoids, with emphasis on their value as in vitro models and research platforms for elucidating the biological features and pathophysiological mechanisms of lung diseases. Special attention is given to their emerging role in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), such as evaluating pharmacological effects of herbal compounds, screening active ingredients, and exploring mechanisms underlying TCM syndrome differentiation and treatment. The aim of this review is to provide comprehensive evidence to support precision diagnosis, drug development, and therapeutic strategies for respiratory diseases.
Parkinson’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder with continuously rising incidence rates. Existing pharmacological treatments have complications and cannot halt disease progression. Transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation (tFUS), as a novel neuromodulation technology, demonstrates unique advantages in Parkinson’s disease treatment. tFUS exerts multiple effects through mechanical mechanisms at multiple levels, including protecting dopaminergic neurons, regulating neurotransmitter systems, and improving neural circuit function. Preclinical studies have confirmed its potential in improving both motor and non-motor symptoms, and early clinical studies have shown good safety profiles. However, the clinical translation of tFUS still faces challenges such as parameter optimization and individualized treatment protocols, requiring validation of long-term efficacy through large-scale clinical trials.
In recent years, 3D-printed porous titanium scaffold has become a focus of research in bone defect repair due to their controllable pore structure and good biocompatibility. Its main strategies include pore design to optimize mechanics and bone ingrowth, surface functionalization modification to enhance osseointegration and anti-infection ability, and loading of bioactive molecules to achieve temporal release and promote vascular osteogenic coupling. Individualized precise reconstruction is gradually being carried out in clinical applications, but long-term safety, manufacturing accuracy, and cost-effectiveness remain challenges. This article reviews the research progress of 3D-printed porous titanium scaffold in bone defect repair, summarizes their application advantages and limitations, and looks forward to directions such as intelligent coatings, immune regulation, and artificial intelligence, in order to provide a reference for their clinical translation.
Non-invasive biomarkers, due to their non-invasive and safe characteristics, hold significant potential for the diagnosis and prognosis of epilepsy. This review summarizes the research progress and future directions of non-invasive biomarkers for epilepsy, encompassing electrophysiological, imaging, biochemical, and genetic markers, and discusses biomarkers for specific types of epilepsy, such as structural lesion-related epilepsy, infection and inflammation-related epilepsy, autoimmune epilepsy, endocrine hormone-related epilepsy, and metabolic epilepsy, to facilitate their clinical application.
ObjectiveTo clarify the application value of thyroid organoids in basic research and clinical translation of thyroid diseases, analyze the key challenges currently faced, and prospect future development directions. MethodsRelevant domestic and international literatures in recent years were systematically searched. This review summarized the construction strategies of thyroid organoids, and their application progress in disease model establishment (e.g., thyroid cancer, Hashimoto thyroiditis), drug screening, and personalized treatment. ResultsThyroid organoids can highly simulate the morphological structure and gene expression profile of native thyroid tissue. In terms of disease modeling, they can accurately reproduce the pathological characteristics and immune microenvironment of thyroid diseases. In drug screening, organoids can predict the response to radioactive iodine therapy and the sensitivity to targeted drugs, with high consistency between their drug sensitivity results and clinical efficacy. In mechanism research, organoids have been successfully used to reveal the roles of abnormal mitogen-activated protein kinase/phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase-protein kinase B signaling pathways, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, ferroptosis, and immunoregulatory mechanisms in thyroid carcinogenesis and disease progression, providing experimental evidence for target identification. ConclusionsAs an in vitro model that highly simulates the in vivo environment, thyroid organoids have become an important platform for thyroid disease research. Although challenges remain in standardized construction and clinical translation, with technical optimization and research evidence accumulation, they hold broad prospects in the field of precision medicine.