Mass. General researchers develop 3-D ‘mini-gut’ model to study response to gluten
In pursuit of a novel tool for the research and treatment of celiac disease, scientists at the Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center (MIBRC) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have validated the use of intestinal organoids. These 3-D tissue cultures are miniature, simplified versions of the intestine produced in vitro. Taking tissue from duodenal biopsies of celiac and non-celiac patients, researchers created the “mini-guts” to explore how the gut epithelium and microbiota-derived molecules respond to gluten, a complex class of proteins found in wheat and other grains. “We currently have no animal model that can recapitulate the response to gluten that we see in humans,” said Stefania Senger, co-senior author of the study, which was published in Scientific Reports this week. “Using this human tissue model, we observed that intestinal organoids express the same molecular markers as actual epithelium in the celiac tissue, and the signature gene expression reflects the functional differences that occur when...