ScienceAlert2 min read
Harvard researchers create gut-on-chip model revealing fibroblasts drive inflammatory bowel disease
Researchers at Harvard University developed a 'Colon Chip' that recreates inflammatory bowel disease using cells from patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering. The model revealed that fibroblasts—connective tissue cells—actively drive inflammation and weaken the gut barrier rather than acting passively, a finding demonstrated by exposing healthy intestinal cells to diseased fibroblasts on the same chip. The system also recapitulated disease exacerbations in pregnancy and showed that diseased tissue exhibits stronger cancer-associated molecular changes when exposed to carcinogens, suggesting fibroblasts increase colorectal cancer susceptibility.