In Vitro Gut Simulations for Microbiome-host Interactions
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Overview
Intestinal models are of great importance to the food and pharmaceutical industries, primarily for toxicology and bioavailability testing of newly developed food ingredients and drugs to bring products to market. Intestinal models are essential for the study of enteric pathogens. The mechanisms underlying the interactions between foodborne pathogenic bacteria, mammalian host, and gut microbiota, including the mechanisms of microbial attachment and interaction with host epithelial cells, and the prevention and control effects of probiotics, remain poorly understood. In vitro models, such as drug permeability assays in human intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cell monolayers, have become standard in the early stages of drug discovery and development. The human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) model can be a powerful tool to examine the biological interactions between food and drugs. The use of in vitro human intestinal cell models is widely accepted for evaluating the mechanistic effects of probiotics or drug absorption and transport, suggesting their application could be extended to include host-gut microbe functional studies. Epithelial cells are essential for the secretion and absorption of nutrients, electrolytes, and solutes.
Fig.1 Architectural Characteristics of Human Intestines. (Dutton, 2019)
Cell Models of The Gut
Numerous standardized in vitro cell models have been developed for the preliminary investigations of toxicity, permeability, absorption, and effect of food and drugs. In most in vitro intestinal studies, the human colon tumorigenic cell lines Caco-2, T84, and HT-29 have been widely used for attachment assays and mechanistic studies. Caco-2 cell has become a standard tool for the prediction of intestinal drug absorption in humans and mechanistic studies of drug transport. To assess monolayer integrity, transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) is usually measured before and after the experiment to indicate the tightness of cell junctions.
Tab.1 Cell lines most commonly used to represent the intestinal epithelium and their characteristics. (Fois, 2019)
In Vitro Assays for Microbiome-host Interactions at Creative Biolabs
Various probiotics have been found to have properties that protect the intestinal barrier by targeting different components of the mucosal barrier system. We can evaluate the effect of the products or samples on intestinal barrier permeability, proinflammatory cytokine, and chemokine production.
Wound healing of the intestinal epithelium is important to maintain an intact barrier and prevent intestinal diseases. A variety of regulatory peptides, including growth factors and cytokines, regulate intestinal epithelial wound healing.
Insulin resistance is a pathological condition of declined cellular response to insulin causing hyperglycemia. Probiotics may represent a therapeutic tool to attenuate the microbial-related mechanisms that produce insulin resistance in human diseases.
At Creative Biolabs, we are committed to helping you drive next-generation probiotics research, providing you with comprehensive customized services. Our experts are ready to assist you. To find out how Creative Biolabs can help researchers, click here for more details.
References
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Dutton, J.S.; et al. Primary cell-derived intestinal models: recapitulating physiology. Trends in biotechnology. 2019, 37(7): 744-760.
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Fois, C.A.M.; et al. Models of the Gut for Analyzing the Impact of Food and Drugs. Advanced Healthcare Materials. 2019, 8(21): 1900968.
For Research Use Only. Not intended for use in food manufacturing or medical procedures (diagnostics or therapeutics). Do Not Use in Humans.
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