A novel on-a-chip system with a 3D-bioinspired gut mucus suitable to investigate bacterial endotoxins dynamics.

The possible pathogenic impact of pro-inflammatory molecules produced by the gut microbiota is one of the hypotheses considered at the basis of the biomolecular dialogue governing the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Among these molecules, lipopolysaccharides (LPS) produced by Gram-negative gut microbiota strains may have a potential key role due to their toxic effects in both the gut and the brain. In this work, we engineered a new dynamic fluidic system, the MINERVA device (MI-device), with the potential to advance the current knowledge of the biological mechanisms regulating the microbiota-gut molecular crosstalk. The MI-device supported the growth of bacteria that are part of the intestinal microbiota under dynamic conditions within a 3D moving mucus model, with features comparable to the physiological conditions (storage modulus of 80 ± 19 Pa, network mesh size of 41 ± 3 nm), without affecting their viability (

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© 2023 The Authors.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The Authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Carmen Giordano, Paola Petrini and Diego Albani have a patent related to a device for the culture of biological agents.