Human fat emerges as a surprising building block for organoid creation

Researchers in China have developed a novel method to create functional organoids from adult human adipose (fat) tissue without the need for isolating stem cells or genetic modification. By processing intact microfat tissue into small pellets and culturing them in suspension, the cells self-organize into organoids that mimic key features of bone marrow, pancreatic islets, and neural tissue. This technique, termed reaggregated microfat (RMF), preserves the natural cellular diversity and microenvironment of fat tissue, enabling differentiation into organoids representing all three germ layers—mesoderm, endoderm, and ectoderm—thus potentially allowing a single tissue source to generate diverse organ types. Significantly, the bone marrow organoids formed via RMF demonstrated functional hematopoiesis when implanted into immunodeficient mice, supporting human blood stem cell engraftment and differentiation. Similarly, pancreatic islet organoids produced insulin in response to glucose and restored normal blood sugar levels in diabetic mice. Neural organ