Bern Human Organoid-Study to Study Host-microbe Interaction

The human body inhabits a complex consortium of different microbes which together form the microbiota. Virtually every surface of the human body is colonized by a distinct microbiota, forming complex communities. An increasing number of research results indicates that changes in the microbiota can have vast effects on the health of its host.

Most studies investigating the microbiota were conducted on animals, as many interventions and investigations cannot be performed on humans due to ethical considerations. This raises the question if findings from experimental studies are translational and can benefit patients. That becomes especially apparent when trying to dissect molecular mechanisms involved in this fine-tuned interplay between nutrients, the microbiota, and its host.

By establishing human organoid cultures from the large and small intestine that can be exposed to microbes and/or microbial products with subsequent transcriptomic, epigenetic and immunological analysis, the investigators aim to generate findings with high translational potential with new insights into the complex interaction of the microbiota, the host and its immune system.