teaThe gut’s sensory system is a sensitive topic because of the specialized epithelial cells that line the gut. Touch sensor On the skin.One These cells are sensitive mechanical stimulation And it transmits information about your “gut feeling” to the nerve cells in your gut, which then send messages to the brain.2 To understand the neuro-epithelial connections that conduct the magnificent symphony of digestion, a team of scientists at Mayo Clinic formed a unique collaboration, combining expertise in microfluidics, organs-on-a-chip, epithelial organelles, enteric nerves, and gut sensing.
Gastroenterologist Arthur Byder (top left), biochemist and molecular biologist Brooke Druriner (top right), biomedical engineer Alexander Revzin (bottom left), and physiologist and biomedical engineer David Linden (bottom right) combined their expertise to create a novel microfluidic cell culture device to study neuroepithelial cell interactions in the gut.
Vader Labs, Druryner Labs, Mayo Clinic, Linden Labs.
One study reported: Microsystems and nanotechnologyResearchers have described something new. Microfluidic co-culture platform Mimicking the anatomy of intestinal tissue by modeling neuroepithelial connectivity.three The device will allow scientists to study the subtle ways in which neurons and epithelial cells interact, something that has been difficult to do until now because of the diverse cell culture conditions required to grow different cell types.
“In many ways, it epitomizes: [gastrointestinal] The cell bodies of the neurons within the barrier are in a different layer surrounded by a capsule, which maintains the microenvironment and allows the axons to grow toward the epithelial cells, so it is called a system. David LindenHe is a Mayo Clinic physiologist and biomedical engineer and co-author of the study.
This device consists of: Alexander LevzinHe, a biomedical engineer at Mayo Clinic, has two separate chambers, one containing the intestinal epithelial organelles and the other containing the intestinal neurons. These receptacles are separated by microscopic grooves that act as passages for thin neurites, separating the cell bodies from the local microenvironment while supporting interactions between the intestinal epithelial cells and the neurons.
Epithelial animals are very conscious of their environment and the space they are in.
-Arthur Bader, Mayo Clinic.
Using time-lapse microscopy, the researchers found that the cultured colon organoids formed an epithelial layer, and that enteric neurons sent out projections across microscopic grooves into adjacent chambers to connect with the epithelial cells. The mere presence of the epithelial cells was enough to act as a cellular conductor’s wand, synchronizing the biomolecular melody and increasing the density of these projections on the epithelial side of the device. “The epithelium is very conscious of its environment and its space,” he said. Arthur Bader“If there’s no epithelium on one side, the nerve cells grow very differently,” says Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist and biomedical engineer and co-author of the study. “We want to understand the conversation that happens between these two systems.”
Having nailed down the technical details of co-culturing gut epithelial cells and neurons, the researchers now aim to understand the structure and function of the connections they form in the future. “I anticipate that this first-generation device could be further enhanced to support co-culturing three or more different gut cell types,” he said. “This represents a solid step toward more complete organs-on-a-chip, which will likely improve and become more sophisticated rapidly in the coming years.” Maxim FlickusA developmental and cell biologist at the University of California, Irvine, who was not involved in the study, said that other sensory systems, including taste, touch, hearing, vision, and smell, also rely on connections between neurons and epithelial cells, so this new microfluidic device could help us understand sensory transmission beyond the gut.
“When we all come together and think about these things, it really raises the question of what we can do next and how can our diverse expertise take this to the next level,” he said. Brooke DrurinnerA biochemist and molecular biologist at the Mayo Clinic and co-author of the study, this multidisciplinary connection, where each team member adds their own special touch to a complex scientific problem, is creating new knowledge that helps us understand how the human body senses and responds to the myriad stimuli that connect the inner and outer worlds of life.
