PeptiGrowth’s Wnt3a Alternative Peptide “PG-008” Used in a Novel Culture Method for Intestinal Organoids Established by Institute of Science Tokyo
2026/05/14
Tokyo, Japan — May 14, 2026 — PeptiGrowth Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Jun Minamitani; "PeptiGrowth") announces that study conducted by Institute of Science Tokyo, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Division of Gastroenterology; Junior Associate Professor Tomohiro Mizutani; ("Science Tokyo"), on a colonic organoid culture method utilizing PeptiGrowth’s Wnt3a alternative peptides, has been published in the international scientific journal "Stem Cell Research & Therapy".
Science Tokyo has been developing technologies for the culture and transplantation of patient-derived intestinal epithelial organoids for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. In this study, a GMP-compliant culture protocol was established by replacing all culture components with clinical-grade materials. As a result, clinical-grade colonic organoids exhibited culture efficiency comparable to conventional research-grade conditions; however, in some cases, organoid establishment remained unsuccessful.
To address this limitation, the study focused on the instability of recombinant Wnt3a protein, a key factor for intestinal organoid culture. Recombinant Wnt3a under serum-free and carrier-free conditions can dramatically lose activity. In contrast, PeptiGrowth’s Wnt3a alternative peptide "PG-008"*1 exhibits stable and potent Wnt signal*2 activation in culture media.
When recombinant Wnt3a was replaced with "PG-008", patient-derived colonic organoid establishment was achieved across all cases, with improved culture stability compared to conventional conditions. Furthermore, during approximately 30 days of serial passaging, organoids exhibited enhanced expansion, with total cell numbers increasing by more than two orders of magnitude.
In addition to PG-008, this culture system incorporates PeptiGrowth’s HGF Alternative peptide "PG-001," Noggin-like peptide "PG-004," and Synthetic EGF "PG-009"*1. As chemically synthesized peptides, these products are compatible with GMP‑compliant manufacturing and offer advantages in cost efficiency and lot‑to‑lot quality consistency. This peptide-based organoid culture platform enables robust, scalable, and reproducible production of clinical-grade patient-derived colonic organoids, and has the potential to significantly advance both regenerative cell therapy and organoid-based translational research.
For further details, please refer to Science Tokyo’s press release (Japanese):
https://www.isct.ac.jp/ja/news/14o4hvxct60c
*1 Peptides referenced in this release are Research Use Only (RUO) reagent.
*2 Wnt signaling: One of the major intracellular signaling pathways known to be involved in cell proliferation and differentiation. Wnt3a is commonly used for culturing organoids from various tissues.
· Paper published by Science Tokyo (English)
Authors: Hady Yuki Sugihara, Sayaka Nagata, Sho Kawasaki, Junichi Takahashi, Yui Hiraguri, Masayoshi Fukuda, Kohei Suzuki, Tatsuro Murano, Satoru Fujii, Toshimitsu Fujii, Hiromichi Shimizu, Kazuo Ohtsuka, Mamoru Watanabe, Ryuichi Okamoto, Tomohiro Mizutani
Title: Peptide-based Wnt signal activation enables scalable production of clinical-grade patient-derived intestinal organoids for regenerative cell therapy
Journal: Stem Cell Research & Therapy (2026)
DOI：https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-026-04995-6
· About PeptiGrowth’s product: Wnt3a alternative peptide (beta-catenin pathway agonist) "PG-008"
PG-008 selectively binds to Frizzled and LRP5/6, which are required for signaling activation, thereby activating the beta-catenin pathway of Wnt signaling in a manner similar to Wnt3a. PG-008 exhibits stronger agonist activity than recombinant Wnt3a, and, compared with CHIR99021 (which also activates the beta-catenin pathway), it demonstrates comparable induction of cellular differentiation at substantially lower concentrations.
Learn more about PG-008: https://peptigrowth.com/en/products/pg-008/
Request a free sample: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=_W3S6ixPNk-fvbmyxq4_d4P9lguwXSJBlCpHevH9DR9UQkxNRk44RTNBVVQ0UktHWTJGWlpXRTZLVS4u&route=shorturl
· About PeptiGrowth Inc.
PeptiGrowth Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets peptide-based alternatives to growth factors used as culture medium components. Through innovative products that maximize the unique properties of peptides, PeptiGrowth aims to help solve critical challenges faced by the industry and contribute to the broader adoption and advancement of regenerative medicine and cell therapy.
Contact: https://peptigrowth.com/en/contact/
