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Updated: Jun 29, 2025
Development of a Multicellular Three-dimensional Organotypic Model of the Human Intestinal Mucosa Grown Under Microgravity
Published on: July 25, 2016
Effect of Porosity on the Colonization of Digital Light-Processed 3D Hydrogel Constructs toward the Development of a
Anna Szabó1, Elly De Vlieghere1, Pedro F Costa2
1Polymer Chemistry and Biomaterials Group, Centre of Macromolecular Chemistry (CMaC), Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium.
Abstract:
With the rapid increase of the number of patients with gastrointestinal diseases in modern society, the need for the development of physiologically relevant in vitro intestinal models is key to improve the understanding of intestinal dysfunctions. This involves the development of a scaffold material exhibiting physiological stiffness and anatomical mimicry of the intestinal architecture. The current work focuses on evaluating the scaffold micromorphology of gelatin-methacryloyl-aminoethyl-methacrylate-based nonporous and porous intestinal 3D, intestine-like constructs, fabricated via digital light processing, on the cellular response. To this end, Caco-2 intestinal cells were utilized in combination with the constructs. Both porous and nonporous constructs promoted cell growth and differentiation toward enterocyte-like cells (VIL1, ALPI, SI, and OCLD expression showed via qPCR, ZO-1 via immunostaining). The porous constructs outperformed the nonporous ones regarding cell seeding efficiency and growth rate, confirmed by MTS assay, live/dead staining, and TEER measurements, due to the presence of surface roughness.
