Gut bioengineering promotes gut repair and pharmaceutical research: a review

Abstract

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract has a diverse set of physiological functions, including peristalsis, immune defense, and nutrient absorptions. These functions are mediated by various intestinal cells such as epithelial cells, interstitial cells, smooth muscle cells, and neurocytes. The loss or dysfunction of specific cells directly results in GI disease, while supplementation of normal cells promotes gut healing. Gut bioengineering has been developing for this purpose to reconstruct the damaged tissues. Moreover, GI tract provides an accessible route for drug delivery, but the collateral damages induced by side effects cannot be ignored. Bioengineered intestinal tissues provide three-dimensional platforms that mimic the in vivo environment to study drug functions. Given the importance of gut bioengineering in current research, in this review, we summarize the advances in the technologies of gut bioengineering and their applications. We were able to identify several ground-breaking discoveries in our review, while more work is needed to promote the clinical translation of gut bioengineering.

Biomaterials and biosensors in intestinal organoid culture, a progress review

“…However, the Matrigel is poorly defined basement membrane derivatives extracted from Engelbreth–Holm–Swarm mouse sarcoma cells. As a result, the application of intestinal organoids is limited especially in the field of regenerative medicine (Huang, Ren, Wu, Li, & Ren, ). Additionally, morphological and functional evaluations of intestinal organoids are mainly dependent on the 3D imaging that usually involves the organoid fixation (Dekkers et al, ).…”

In vitro models of intestinal epithelium: Toward bioengineered systems

“…Bioengineered systems are also very promising tools for personalized medicine approaches. 118 Organoids can be used, but the lack of standardization and quality control of this model limits their use in biomedical applications. However, development of personalized intestine chip containing epithelial, mesenchymal, immune cells and microbiome from the same patient will offer powerful models to predict patient-specific drug response.…”

Marine-inspired molecular mimicry generates a drug-free, but immunogenic hydrogel adhesive protecting surgical anastomosis

“…Hydrogels remain the most popular scaffolds in the repair of injured digestive tracts because they mimic three-dimensional networks of extracellular matrix and support cell infiltration and tissue regeneration [ 7 , 8 ]. Two main strategies of hydrogel application are promising: acellular scaffolds and cell-laden scaffolds.…”