Gastrointestinal models articles from across Nature Portfolio

The tumor suppressor p53 is the guardian of the genome. Here, the authors use comprehensive approaches to demonstrate that transient p53 activity induces revival stem cells to promote the regeneration of severely irradiated intestinal epithelium in mice.

An immune cell population enriched in inflamed gut tissue is shown to play a role in driving CD44⁺ intestinal organoid proliferation, while also regulating extracellular matrix deposition and remodelling in a synthetic hydrogel platform.

A bioprinting approach that utilizes organoid-forming stem cells as a living ink within hydrogels guides tissue-scale self-organization to generate more realistic gastrointestinal and vascular tissue constructs.

In 2020, major advances to the understanding of gastrointestinal inflammatory and infectious disease have been made using ‘mini-gut’ organoids. Key findings include the discovery of somatic inflammatory gene mutations in ulcerative colitis epithelium, a unique mutational signature in colorectal cancer caused by genotoxic Escherichia coli, and infection of intestinal organoids by SARS-CoV-2.

To therapeutically modulate gut microbial ecosystems, a better understanding of gut ecology is key. High-throughput in vitro ecology provides a tool with the necessary power to address these needs and interpersonal treatment response variation.

A microfluidic chip incorporating oxygen gradients, a diverse human microbiota and patient-derived cells, mimics interactions between microorganisms and host tissue in the human gut.