The human mucus is a gelatinous-like structure produced by all organs exposed to the outer surface as a self-defense mechanism to protect our bodies against pathogens, toxins, and environmental insults. The intestinal mucus specifically harbors a complex microbial community – gut microbiota – that strongly affects digestion, immune system and overall health state. The interplay between intestinal mucus and gut microbiota is known to impact infection dynamics and further antimicrobial treatment. Within the SurfEx project, in vitro models of intestinal mucus will be generated to both study infection dynamics and to support antimicrobial development.
This project entails:
- Recreation of complex microbial communities characteristic of human gut in in vitro intestinal mucus models produced with Bac3Gel technology.
- Establishing how gut pathogens migrate through the mucus structure towards the epithelium and their impact on the pre-established microbial community.
- Production of a library of the interaction of different luminal molecules and antimicrobial drugs with different intestinal mucus models.
