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Intestines 'n' Chips

Lab grown 'intestine-on-a-chip' accurately models environmental enteric dysfunction

16 July 2022

Intestines 'n' Chips

In children, the triple threat of poor sanitation, gut infections and malnutrition can cause environmental enteric dysfunction (EED). This inflammatory condition damages the gut lining, disturbing its ability to act as a barrier and absorb nutrients, as well as eroding its special projections called villi. Researchers now present a way to model this disease in the lab using organ chips. Organ chips mimic the function of whole organs. Here, chips were made using intestinal cells from healthy or EED patients. Exposing EED chips to conditions mimicking malnutrition caused changes in gene activity matching those in intestinal samples from EED patients. Fluorescence microscopy revealed extended villi (left) in both healthy (top) and EED (bottom) chips. In both chips, the absence of nutrients caused villi to erode (right), and impaired barrier function and nutrient uptake. However, EED chips additionally released inflammatory chemicals. Intestine chips can, therefore, accurately model EED for future studies.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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