Establishing a novel gut-brain axis model
About this project
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Completed
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Introduction
To date, most studies to understand the gut-brain axis have focused on one of its compartments isolated rather than investigating their connection. We aim to build an extended gut-brain axis ex vivo/in vitro model based on individually well-established methods to meet the need of standardised mechanistical assessments of personalised dietary and medical interventions. Therefore, this project combines intestinal human samples with a model system for cells of the nervous system.
This project is funded by an ESPEN 2020 Research Fellowship and a project grant from the Faculty of Medicine and Health, both awarded to Julia Rode.
About the study
In this study, intestinal biopsies and in some cases stool samples from individuals with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and healthy individuals were used to simulate the gut barrier. The serosal fluid formed was incubated with dermal fibroblasts, which simulate the blood-brain barrier, and stress factors, which simulate oxidative stress in the body. The results showed that the incubation of fibroblasts in the serosal fluid had no cytotoxic effect nor affected it the vitality of the cells. However, the cells were affected by the stress factors. The main focus was on the amino acid tryptophan which is precursor for the neurotransmitter serotonin. Tryptophan transport proteins were used to investigate possible functional changes in the fibroblasts. The tryptophan transport was only somewhat affected by serosal fluid. The new method allows the exploration of the effects of substances in the serosal fluid on a blood-brain barrier model.
Myrto S. Chatzopoulou, Ravi Vumma, Samira Prado, Mathias W. Scharf, Victor Castro-Alves, Ashley N. Hutchinson, Ignacio Rangel, Tatiana M. Marques, Rebecca Wall, Robert J. Brummer & Julia Rode, Development of a novel humanized gut-brain axis model as a tool toward personalized nutrition | Communications Biology, Commun Biol 9, 73, 2026.
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Collaborators
- Dr Ravi Vumma, University of New England, USA