Intestines on a chip
Scientists have created a chip to "clarify the relationship" between humans and bacteria
The new system allows "side by side" to grow human intestinal cell culture and bacteria inhabiting the intestine. With its help, researchers will be able to reproduce and study the processes occurring in the human body that are inaccessible to other research methods.
The composition of intestinal bacteria affects human health: some diseases, such as diabetes mellitus or obesity, are associated with an imbalance of microflora. However, modern methods in this field are limited to animal experiments, the results of which cannot be unambiguously transferred to humans. In a new article (Shah et al., A microfluidics-based in vitro model of the gastrointestinal human–microbe interface) published in the journal Nature Communications, scientists from the USA and Luxembourg presented a system that will expand the capabilities of researchers – the HuMiX microfluidic chip (Human-Microbial Crosstalk – "human-microbe communication").
HuMiX simulates anaerobic – airless – conditions in which microorganisms and intestinal epithelial cells exist. The system consists of three cells: the upper part contains nutrients, human cells grow on a thin membrane in the middle chamber, and at the very bottom there is a bacterial culture from one or more strains.
Figure from an article in Nature Communications (scale size on the right = 1 cm) – VM
To test how accurately HuMiX mimics the human gut environment, scientists measured how proximity to different types of bacteria changes the activity of genes in intestinal cells. The data obtained are consistent with the results of similar measurements in vivo, that is, in a living organism, and experiments on animals.
The HuMiX chip will allow microbiologists to better study the interaction of bacterial cells with human cells and test a number of hypotheses. For example, scientists have recently shown that gut bacteria can influence the consequences of a stroke.
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19.05.2016