This is a past event
Liya Mathew from Queen Mary University of London
The use of a gut-on-a-chip model to investigate fungal interactions in health and IBD
Summary: Candida albicans typically exists as a commensal yeast within healthy hosts, but not found in the rodent gut, can form tissue-invasive hyphae that secrete Candidalysin (CLYS) toxin to disrupt epithelial barriers. To better model these interactions in human hosts, a ‘gut-on-a-chip’ system was developed to investigate C. albicans interactions with the epithelium under physiologically relevant conditions. Differences in key virulence factors were observed between gut mucosa-derived Candida from healthy controls (HC) and IBD patients. Phenotypic, genomic, and proteomic analyses were conducted, revealing that IBD-derived isolates were more readily able to form hyphae, displayed altered cell wall composition, and modulated expression of filamentation / adhesion-associated genes. Subsequent immune responses to these strain-dependent profiles were then investigated to understand impact on host responses. Gut-adapted C. albicans from HC and IBD donors exhibit distinct biological profiles that impact on host immune responses and shape interactions with the gut barrier in a novel organ chip model.
- Speaker
- Liya Mathew from Queen Mary University of London
- Hosted by
- Ed Devlin
- Venue
- The Rowett Institute
- Contact
-
Students and staff only - Teams link available