Investigating the Impact of Small Intestine Architecture on Nutrient Absorption in vitro
Houchin, Megan R.
2023
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The architecture of the small intestine is a direct determinant of nutritional absorption efficiency. The curvature of the luminal walls and the presence of villus structures are crucial features for maintaining gut homeostasis. To model nutritional absorption in the intestine, three-dimensional (3D) printing and inverse molding techniques were utilized to form 3D, spongy, silk fibroin scaffold ... read moresystems that resemble the cylindrical structure and villus microarchitecture. Five scaffold designs were created to isolate or combine the distinct features of the small intestine’s architecture. The key features of the small intestine that were compared included the curvature of the lumen and the structure of the villi. Intestinal cell (Caco-2, HT29-MTX) attachment, growth, and in vitro culture support were demonstrated in the scaffolds. Iron was selected as a model nutrient to study nutritional absorption efficiency due to its crucial role in growth and development for almost all living organisms. Although iron is widely available in food and supplements, iron deficiency remains one of the most common nutritional deficiencies, making it an important area of research. The formation of ferritin, the intracellular iron storage protein, was used to measure iron absorption as ferritin is upregulated in response to iron uptake. Ferritin levels from each scaffold type were quantified using an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) and visualized through immunostaining. Our findings suggest the villus structures in the small intestine are the primary determinant of iron absorption, while the curvature of the lumen has a less significant impact. This study established a novel in vitro intestinal epithelial model for investigating iron absorption within the small intestine, without the ethical and practical limitations of animal and human studies.
Thesis (B.S.B.M.E.)--Tufts University, 2023.
Submitted to the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering.
Committee: David Kaplan and Ying Chen.read less - ID:
- 6h4417633
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