Microfluidic-based cell encapsulation has promising potential in therapeutic applications. It also provides a unique approach for studying cellular dynamics and interactions, though this concept has not yet been fully explored. No in vitro model currently exists that allows us to study the interaction between crypt cells and Peyer's patch immune cells because of the difficulty in recreating, with sufficient control, the two different microenvironments in the intestine in which these cell types belong. However, we demonstrate that a microfluidic technique is able to provide such precise control and that these cells can proliferate inside microgels. Current microfluidic-based cell microencapsulation techniques primarily use fluorinated oils. Herein, we study the feasibility and biocompatibility of different nonfluorinated oils for application in gastrointestinal cell encapsulation and further introduce a model for studying intercellular chemical interactions with this approach. Our results demonstrate that cell viability is more affected by the solidification and purification processes that occur after droplet formation rather than the oil type used for the carrier phase. Specifically, a shorter polymer cross-linking time and consequently lower cell exposure to the harsh environment (e.g., acidic pH) results in a high cell viability of over 90% within the protected microgels. Using nonfluorinated oils, we propose a model system demonstrating the interplay between crypt and Peyer's patch cells using this microfluidic approach to separately encapsulate the cells inside distinct alginate/gelatin microgels, which allow for intercellular chemical communication. We observed that the coculture of crypt cells alongside Peyer's patch immune cells improves the growth of healthy organoids inside these microgels, which contain both differentiated and undifferentiated cells over 21 days of coculture. These results indicate the possibility of using droplet-based microfluidics for culturing organoids to expand their applicability in clinical research.
Perturbation of the microbiome is implicated in the pathogenesis of many human ailments, including inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease (CD). Recapitulating the microbiome associated with health and disease necessitates controlling the composition of multiple bacterial species. This is difficult to achieve in vitro due to the overgrowth of bacterial species over time. Here, a microfluidic-based model incorporating bacteriaembedded hydrogel microfibers for the coculture of human enteric bacteria is introduced. Employing bacterial species and strains associated with CD, it is shown that the hydrogel-based bacteria-embedded microfiber model is physically and mechanically robust, and tunable. Metabolite analysis of the medium in both mono-and coculture revealed the interfiber exchange of soluble mediators and their impact on the growth of different bacterial species. This novel approach should enhance the ability to decipher contactindependent cross-talk within the polymicrobial intestinal luminal environment, and its impact on the intestinal epithelium.
Inflammatory bowel disease is linked to complex interactions with the intestinal microbiome. In article number https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201805568, Alireza Abbaspourrad and co‐workers introduce a microfluidic approach to embed viable bacteria in microfiber for co‐culturing human enteric microbes. This approach is an important step toward a realistic in‐vitro model of the human intestinal microbiome, paving the way to in‐depth in‐vitro studies of related diseases.
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