Development of a three-dimensional (3D) model of the human intestine in vitro

• Grant number: 24/14362-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2024
• End date: September 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Cytology and Cell Biology
• Principal Investigator: Renata Rosito Tonelli
• Grantee: Angelica Brito Oliveira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The use of living beings for pharmacokinetic tests is very importat to stipulatesafety of use and observation of effects in complex organisms. Animal modelsare also used in basic research to understand the pathogenesis of certaindiseases and organ function at the cellular level. Currently, with the advent of techniquesof cell biology, it was possible to create in vitro cultures morphologically similar to thoseexisting in vivo and which serve as an alternative for these experiments. Initially,Caco-2 cell monolayers were developed as a simplified form ofhuman intestinal mucosa, although they are still systems of low complexity and verydistant from the microenvironment observed in living beings. Thus, these in vitro cultureshave evolved into three-dimensional models that make it possible to understand more cellular processes complexes, such as permeability and toxicity, as well as the study of the interaction of intestinal parasites with the hosts. In this project, the aim is to reproduce the microenvironment of human intestine in three-dimensional in vitro co-culture model using cells of the intestinal epithelium in a permeable membrane Transwell" in order to obtain informations about physiological processes and compare any differences with what is observed in vivo by incorporating the tissue into Tissue-Tek", immunostaining methods and statistical evaluation of the permeability of the three-dimensional model based in measurements of Transepithelial Electrical Resistance (TEER).