Organoid in Coronavirus Cross-Species Risk Assessment: Current Applications and Future Perspectives

JIANG Rendi^1,2, ZHOU Peng^3,4*

(¹Greater Bay Area Institute of Precision Medicine (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, China; ²Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China; ³Guangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou 510005, China; ⁴the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou 510182, China)

Abstract:

EIDs (emerging infectious diseases) pose an ongoing threat to global public health. Epidemiological evidence indicates that approximately 70% of zoonotic EIDs originate from wildlife. As human activities expand and interactions with wildlife intensify, the risk of animal-origin coronaviruses crossing species barriers to humans and trigger pandemics significantly increased. Therefore, establishing comprehensive, efficient, and precise coronavirus cross-species transmission risk assessment and early-warning systems is critical for preventing future “disease X”. This review begins with the zoonotic origins of EIDs and highlights groundbreaking advances in organoid technology in pathogen research. The innovative applications and key achievements of organoid models in predicting coronavirus cross-species transmission risks and elucidating underlying mechanisms are systematically elaborated and summarized. Furthermore, this review critically analyzes major technical challenges facing organoid models in cross-species infection research and prospectively discusses their future development trajectories and translational potentials.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2025.09.0020