Ready to take a look inside your gut? No, don’t worry, no invasive medical procedures. We’re talking about an artificial gut created (or should I say “printed”) in the lab, a revolutionary model that promises to change the way we study and treat intestinal diseases.
Crypts and villi at your fingertips
Imagine being able to reproduce the complex architecture of your intestine with a simple “print”. That's exactly what researchers atInstitute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC). They have developed an innovative method to control the formation of gland- and villi-like structures in the intestine using a protein contact printing technique.
Simply put, they created a template with specific patterns of key proteins, such as Wnt3a e EphrinB1, on a basement membrane. These proteins are essential for the organization and differentiation of intestinal epithelial tissue. With this technique, researchers were able to control where and how intestinal structures form. It's a bit like using a cookie cutter, except instead of shapes of stars and hearts, they get something else. Something very, very interesting.
Self-organizing cells
The crux of this study lies in the cells themselves. “The cells we work with self-organize into distinct compartments that precisely replicate intestinal structures,” he explains. Jordi Comelles, senior researcher at IBEC and co-author of the study that I link to you here. “What we achieve with our method, which is based on contact printing of proteins, is control over how and where these structures form.”
In other words, the cells already know what to do, they just need a little help getting into position. It's a bit like throwing a party: you prepare the food, the music, and the decorations, but the guests set the mood.
Why the Artificial Intestine is so Important
This innovative method will essentially allow us to individually analyze the factors involved in the organization and functioning of the intestine, revealing their role in key processes such as cell proliferation and differentiation.
“For example, we observed that the Exogenous Wnt3a can reduce the production of the same factor at the endogenous level, which opens up new possibilities for manipulating these signaling pathways,” adds Comelles.
It will be like having a remote control for your gut, where you can push buttons to control different aspects of its functioning. Want more cell proliferation? Push the Wnt3a button. Want less inflammation? Push the EphrinB1 button. The possibilities are endless.
Computer simulations
Nature Communications. (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55651-7
The researchers also used computer models to simulate interactions between signaling pathways, providing more detailed insight into the processes involved in cellular organization.
This breakthrough not only improves our understanding of gut biology, but also opens up new opportunities to test drugs, study diseases in a controlled environment, and develop more effective treatments.
The future is in the gut (artificial and natural)
This work, which involved the collaboration of several research institutes in Spain, can have truly far-reaching implications for human health. From inflammatory bowel diseases to cancer, this model could provide an invaluable platform to explore new therapies and prevention strategies.
These tiny organoids growing in the lab could hold the key to a healthier future, one where gut disease is a thing of the past. Maybe one day we’ll even be able to print our own personalized probiotic yogurt right in our gut. Am I exaggerating? Maybe. But with science, you never know. After all, who would have thought we could 3D print an artificial gut?