Using Human Organ Chips, researchers at the Wyss Institute were able to generate the mucus layer of the colon in vitro, which has never been done before. In the colon, the mucus layer protects intestinal epithelial cells against inflammatory stimuli such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. The ability to support mucus-producing cells is one step towards modeling inflammatory bowel diseases in vitro.
Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University