Engineering Solutions for Representative Models of the Gastrointestinal Human-Microbe Interface

Marc Mac Giolla Eain; Joanna Baginska; Kacy Greenhalgh; Jo&euml;lle V. Fritz; Frederic Zenhausern; Paul Wilmes

doi:10.1016/J.ENG.2017.01.011

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Engineering ›› 2017, Vol. 3 ›› Issue (1) : 60-65. DOI: 10.1016/J.ENG.2017.01.011

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Engineering Solutions for Representative Models of the Gastrointestinal Human-Microbe Interface

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Abstract

Host-microbe interactions at the gastrointestinal interface have emerged as a key component in the governance of human health and disease. Advances in micro-physiological systems are providing researchers with unprecedented access and insights into this complex relationship. These systems combine the benefits of microengineering, microfluidics, and cell culture in a bid to recreate the environmental conditions prevalent in the human gut. Here we present the human-microbial cross talk (HuMiX) platform, one such system that leverages this multidisciplinary approach to provide a representative in vitro model of the human gastrointestinal interface. HuMiX presents a novel and robust means to study the molecular interactions at the host-microbe interface. We summarize our proof-of-concept results obtained using the platform and highlight its potential to greatly enhance our understanding of host-microbe interactions with a potential to greatly impact the pharmaceutical, food, nutrition, and healthcare industries in the future. A number of key questions and challenges facing these technologies are also discussed.

Keywords

Microbiome / Microfluidics / Organ-on-a-chip / HuMiX

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Marc Mac Giolla Eain, Joanna Baginska, Kacy Greenhalgh, Joëlle V. Fritz, Frederic Zenhausern, Paul Wilmes. Engineering Solutions for Representative Models of the Gastrointestinal Human-Microbe Interface. Engineering, 2017, 3(1): 60‒65 https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENG.2017.01.011

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support from all staff members at the Luxembourg Center for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) at the University of Luxembourg and at the Center for Applied Nanobioscience and Medicine (ANBM) at the University of Arizona, in particular the contributions of Audrey Frachet (LCSB) and Linda Wampach (LCSB) for illustrations and Matthew Barrett (ANBM). The work of Marc Mac Giolla Eain and Joanna Baginska is supported by a proof-of-concept grant (PoC/15/11014639) to Paul Wilmes and Joëlle V. Fritz through the CORE programme (CORE/14/BM/8066232). The proof-of-concept work on HuMiX was supported by an ATTRACT programme grant (ATTRACT/A09/03), a CORE programme grant (CORE/11/BM/1186762), a European Union Joint Programming in Neurodegenerative Diseases grant (INTER/JPND/12/01), a proof-of-concept grant (PoC15/11014639), an Accompany Measures mobility grant (12/AM2c/05), and an Aide à la Formation Recherché (AFR) postdoctoral grant (AFR/PDR 2013-1/BM/5821107), all funded by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR).

Compliance with ethics guidelines

Authors Frederic Zenhausern and Paul Wilmes have corresponding patent applications, which are currently pending PCT Pub. Nos. WO2013EP055712, WO2013EP065718, and WO201344253; US Provisional App. No. 62/166940; and PCT App. NO. PTC/EP2016/062024.

Marc Mac Giolla Eain, Joanna Baginska, Kacy Greenhalgh, Joëlle V. Fritz, Frederic Zenhausern, and Paul Wilmes declare that they have no conflict of interest or financial conflicts to disclose.

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2017 2017 THE AUTHORS. Published by Elsevier LTD on behalf of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Higher Education Press Limited Company. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).