The current state-of-the-art in human disease modelling is the use of stem cell-derived organoids to capture human phenotype in vitro. Organoids, to a certain extent, recapitulate the physiology of the different human organs but don’t fully capture their complexity yet. In parallel, Organ-on-Chips (OoCs) have been developed by modelling some of the complexity of the different organ systems along the gut-brain axis, primarily using cell lines. Gut-on-chip models have become more complex, but do not have a major focus on the gut mucosa. In this respect, GUTVIBRATIONS goes beyond the state-of-the-art and will provide a new approach in modelling the gut-brain axis interaction with a focus on mimicking the human phenotype aspects of gut mucosa, BBB, and brain along the immune route. In addition, GUTVIBRATIONS’ mission is to maximize the exploitation of the gut-brain axis OoC along with the individual elements that make up the model such as STACKS, media and Biosilk. GUTVIBRATIONS impact strategy is to ensure widespread deployment of our OoC for disease modelling and pre-clinical drug development.
The expected impacts within and beyond GUTVIBRATIONS are as follows:
1) Verifiable progress in the application of OoC technologies for in vitro research
2) Reduction of the need for animals in clinical testing
3) Lowering of barriers for application of OoC technology
4) Improved competitiveness and attractiveness of the European bioemedical and healthcare sector.
5) Increased awareness and knowledge about medical regulatory policies and requirements, especially by academics and SMEs
