Rectal organoid morphology analysis (ROMA) as a promising diagnostic tool in cystic fibrosis
Senne Cuyx, Anabela S. Ramalho, Nikky Corthout, Steffen Fieuws, Eva Fürstová, Kaline Arnauts, Marc Ferrante, Catherine M. Verfaillie, Sebastian Munck, Mieke Boon, Marijke Proesmans, Lieven Dupont, K. De Boeck, F. Vermeulen
Abstract
mutations are found requires physiological CFTR assays, which are not always feasible or available. We developed a new physiological CFTR assay based on the morphological differences between rectal organoids from subjects with and without CF. In organoids from 167 subjects with and 22 without CF, two parameters derived from a semi-automated image analysis protocol (rectal organoid morphology analysis, ROMA) fully discriminated CF subjects with two disease-causing mutations from non-CF subjects (p<0.001). ROMA, feasible at all ages, can be centralised to improve standardisation.