New intestine-on-a-chip could be used to test chemical metabolism

A new ‘intestine-on-a-chip’ may help scientists to understand how human gut microbes can break down environmental chemicals in the body, sometimes producing more toxic products. Existing in vitro models tend to survive only for a number of hours before bacterial overgrowth. A US team reports that its device can be used for experiments lasting five days or more – "substantially longer" than past studies. The new model uses human intestinal cells covered in a layer of mucous and contains a complex community of human gut bacteria, with a population diversity similar to that observed in living human intestine. The complex microbiota were originally derived from human stool specimens and kept alive in mice grown to have sterile guts.The US tool was designed to help discover microbiome-related therapeutics, probiotics and nutraceuticals but could also be used for chemical testing.