Goc-MM · Human gut microbiota on gut-on-a-chip

Human gut microbiota on gut-on-a-chip

Goc-MM consists of minimal functional portion of gut cultured in a microfluidic device, gut-on-a-chip, that mimics the environment of intestine. This gut-on-chip was designed to host gut-microbiota derived by stool samples from patients with metabolic conditions. The purpose was to study the gut microbiota and its metabolites in presence of oxygen and in anoxic conditions provided by a new perfusion system, CubiX produced at Cherry Biotech. The gut microbiota provides nutrients and energy for the host through the products of substrate fermentation in Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA). Understanding how the changes in the gut microbiota composition may influence the production of the SCFA is of interest to find diets and treatments for obese and anorexic patients. Previous studies are limited and imprecise with a lack of information in detailed dietary intake, environmental exposure, and mediators. Understanding the role of the trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that comprise the human microbiota is critical to understand a variety of human disease. Dysbiosis of the microbiota had been found critical not only for intestinal disease but also in the immunological responses and in other human pathologies. Criticalities on studying the microbiota in vitro are mainly represented by the variety of the gut microbiota presences and their interactions. Microfluidic organ-on-a-chip models offer new opportunities to analyse the single contribute of individual cellular, chemicals and physical parameters on-at-a-time. The scientific goal of Goc-MM was to design, test and bring to a TRL (technological readiness level) 5 a gut-on-chip containing two channels: one for the endothelium and the other one for the intestinal epithelium to host the gut microbiota. The main motivation that leads us to get involved in this project was to provide to scientific community and industries a convenient and standardized methodology of isolation and cultivation of microbiota from human faecal microbiota transplantation. The faecal transplantation is used in the management of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection because of its clear advantages over antibiotics. Benefits from faecal transplantation have been suggested for other conditions but studying in vitro the mechanism of action has been a bottleneck for two main reasons: (1) reproducing the peristaltic movements in vitro; and (2) reproducing the thermic and gas environment which is partially produced by the fermentative reactions of the gut microbiota. In this view, the Gut-on-a-Chip is an interesting technology to understand gut microbiota.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз