First Encounters

When you meet someone new do you react differently depending on whether you’re alone or surrounded by friends and family? Cells of the body respond to intruding microbes in concert with their neighbours, but many experiments into how the gut interacts with external factors are based on single layers of particular cells in a dish. A new approach cultured a 3D model, pictured after exposure to bacteria, complete with intestinal lining (stained green and red) and immune cells (purple), allowing a more representative overview of interactions. With the culture established, the researchers tested the platform’s use, introducing elements such as parasitic worm excretions to observe the resulting physical and functional changes in the intestinal lining. They saw lifelike changes in the regulation of immune system proteins, confirming the model’s viability, and showcasing its potential to eavesdrop on the interactions between host and microbe.

Written by Anthony Lewis

Anthony Lewis

Writer

Ant was the web editor in the early days of BPoD, and has since worked with the UK’s top science organisations as a writer and multimedia producer. He now splits his time between freelance work and managing multimedia at The Lancet.

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• Image from work by Chrysanthi-Maria Moysidou and colleagues
• Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Advanced Materials, June 2022