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NIH awards $5.1 million toward study of human enteric disease
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The NIH awarded researchers from Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson Cancer Center a $5.1 million grant to study human enteric disease through tissue engineering, according to a press release.
The grant supports a 5-year program for the development of a bioreactor that will enhance the simulation of complex tissues and movements of the intestinal track.
“Infectious disease labs that study enteric disease need better models that faithfully simulate the physiology of the intestine,” Jane Grande-Allen, PhD, professor of bioengineering at Rice University, said in the press release. “This organ contains multiple types of cells that are arranged in complex patterns and these tissues are constantly on the move. They contract and expand all the time and we suspect some pathogens take advantage of that motion to mount their attacks.”
The platform to be created will mechanically stimulate cultures to stage cell differentiation and tissue patterning. Researchers will also develop enteroid cultures to study enteric pathogens, such as human rotaviruses and Escherichia coli, and explore the role of commensal gut bacteria and probiotics that may deflect pathogens.
The investigation of enteric pathogens is limited because the organisms in animals typically used in research behave differently than they do in humans, according to the release. The goal of the project is to create a simple and fairly inexpensive technique that could be applied in any infectious disease lab.
“This kind of problem can only be solved with teamwork because it requires expertise in enteric disease, cell biology, tissue engineering, bioreactor design and more,” Mary Estes, PhD, Cullen Chair of Molecular and Human Virology from Baylor College of Medicine, said in the press release.
Acute gastroenteritis is frequently linked to bacteria and viruses in contaminated food or water and causes cramps, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. Approximately 17% of annual deaths worldwide are attributed to diarrheal diseases, according to the release, and are the second-leading cause of death among children aged 5 years and younger.