Actin in an Organoid

This brightly colored, hyperactive ball of cells shows the protein actin in a laboratory model of the intestines called an intestinal organoid. Actin plays an important role in the development of organs and organoids because, as one of the main components of a cell’s cytoskeleton, it is essential for the growth, movement, and differentiation of cells.

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Actin in an Organoid

What am I looking at?

This video shows actin at work in a growing intestinal organoid. The video is depth-coded for color, which means that cooler colors like blue and purple are closer to the viewer and warmer colors like yellow are farther away from the viewer.

Biology in the background

Organoids are mini-organs that researchers grow in the lab as a simplified model that offers insight into the structure and function of actual organs. This is a video of an intestinal organoid that was grown to study how the intestines develop and function. We can see the movement of the actin protein within the cells of the organoid as it grows. Actin is an essential part of the cytoskeleton and allows cells to move and change shape. During development, cells move, or migrate, frequently before settling into their destination. It is especially striking to watch the actin around the edges of the organoid while it grows and changes, expanding and contracting the cell membranes of the developing cells.

Intestinal organoids vary in shape and size depending on their stage of development and their complexity. They can range from 200 micrometers at their smallest, or roughly 2.5 times larger than the width of a human hair, to 4 millimeters at their largest, or roughly 50 times larger than the width of a human hair.

Technique

This video was created using confocal microscopy.