The human gut microbiota is widely considered to be a metabolic organ hidden within our bodies,playing a crucial role in the host’s physiology.Several factors affect its composition,so a wide variety of microbes resi...The human gut microbiota is widely considered to be a metabolic organ hidden within our bodies,playing a crucial role in the host’s physiology.Several factors affect its composition,so a wide variety of microbes residing in the gut are present in the world population.Individual excessive imbalances in microbial composition are often associated with human disorders and pathologies,and new investigative strategies to gain insight into these pathologies and define pharmaceutical therapies for their treatment are needed.In vitro models of the human gut microbiota are commonly used to study microbial fermentation patterns,community composition,and host-microbe interactions.Bioreactors and microfluidic devices have been designed to culture microorganisms from the human gut microbiota in a dynamic environment in the presence or absence of eukaryotic cells to interact with.In this review,we will describe the overall elements required to create a functioning,reproducible,and accurate in vitro culture of the human gut microbiota.In addition,we will analyze some of the devices currently used to study fermentation processes and relationships between the human gut microbiota and host eukaryotic cells.展开更多
基金supported by the BIOMEMBRANE project (M-ERA.net 2 project 4246)the KERAPACK project (MANUNET MNET 17/NMAT-0060)+2 种基金the PRA_2018_68 (grant supported by the University of Pisa)MIT-UNIPI project (grant supported by the University of Pisa and the MIT)the support of the Additive Manufacturing Cross-Lab of the Department of Information Engineering of the University of Pisa
文摘The human gut microbiota is widely considered to be a metabolic organ hidden within our bodies,playing a crucial role in the host’s physiology.Several factors affect its composition,so a wide variety of microbes residing in the gut are present in the world population.Individual excessive imbalances in microbial composition are often associated with human disorders and pathologies,and new investigative strategies to gain insight into these pathologies and define pharmaceutical therapies for their treatment are needed.In vitro models of the human gut microbiota are commonly used to study microbial fermentation patterns,community composition,and host-microbe interactions.Bioreactors and microfluidic devices have been designed to culture microorganisms from the human gut microbiota in a dynamic environment in the presence or absence of eukaryotic cells to interact with.In this review,we will describe the overall elements required to create a functioning,reproducible,and accurate in vitro culture of the human gut microbiota.In addition,we will analyze some of the devices currently used to study fermentation processes and relationships between the human gut microbiota and host eukaryotic cells.