Abstract
An in vitro model of intestine epithelium with an immune compartment was bioengineered to mimic immunologic responses seen in inflammatory bowel disease [1]. While aspects of intestinal immunity can be modeled in transwells and 2D culture systems, 3D tissue models improve physiological relevance by providing a 3D substrate which enable migration of macrophages towards the epithelium. An intestinal epithelium comprised of non-transformed human colon organoid cells and a subepithelial layer laden with monocyte-derived macrophages was bioengineered to mimic native intestinal mucosa cell organization using spongy silk scaffolds. Confluent epithelial monolayers with microvilli, a mucus layer, and infiltration of macrophages to the basal side of the epithelium were observed. Inflammation, induced by E. coli O111:B4 lipopolysaccharide and interferon γ resulted in morphology changes to the epithelium, resulting in ball-like structures, decreased epithelial coverage, and migration of macrophages to the epithelium. Analysis of cytokines present in the inflamed tissue model demonstrated significantly upregulated secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines associated with active inflammatory bowel disease, including CXCL10, IL-1β, IL-6, MCP-2, and MIP-1β. The macrophage layer enhanced epithelial and biochemical responses to inflammatory stimuli, and this new tissue system may be useful to study and develop potential therapies for inflammatory bowel disease.
References: 6 Roh, T.T., et al., 3D bioengineered tissue model of the large intestine to study inflammatory bowel disease. Biomaterials, 2019: p. 119517.
7 In, J., et al., Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli reduce mucus and intermicrovillar bridges in human stem cell-derived colonoids. Cellular and molecular gastroenterology and hepatology, 2015. 2(1): p. 48–62.e3.
8 Chen, Y., et al., In vitro enteroid-derived three-dimensional tissue model of human small intestinal epithelium with innate immune responses. PLoS ONE, 2017. 12(11): p. e0187880.
Colonoid and macrophage cultivation scheme in the 3D bilayer system. (A) Human monocytes were isolated from whole blood and human colonoids from large intestine biopsies were cultured according to established protocols [2]. (B) Cell suspensions of colonoids were seeded on the film surface on the inner silk scaffold and monocyte-derived macrophages were seeded throughout the porous outer silk scaffold using established protocols [3]. (C) The model is cultured for 3 weeks total with 2 weeks in High WNT media and 1 week in differentiation media based on established protocol. Colonoids are present in the model throughout the 3 week culture time. 2 sets of macrophages are added with the first set added after the first week of culture and the second set replacing the first set after the second week.
Development of a stacked, porous silk scaffold neuroblastoma model for investigating spatial differences in cell and drug responsiveness
