Lung organoid-on-chip models to study respiratory infections

Barbara de Faria Da Fonseca (Biomaterials and Microfluidics core facility, Institut Pasteur, Paris)

10 April 2025

Seminar

Pratical info

12:00 - 13:00
Conference room Rosalind Franklin
research professional
Reduced mobility access

The development of complex in vitro models, such as organoids, gastruloids and organ-on-chips systems, will allow the better understanding of human biological processes that are otherwise difficult to address with classical in vitro 2D culture and/or with animal models. Elucidating how pathogens, such as the SARS-CoV-2, invade human cells by evading the immune system and how this could be modulated by the host microbiota has been greatly facilitated by the advancement of 3D cell culture techniques. For example, mimicking the gut peristalsis in gut-on-a-chip device improves the maturation of colon epithelial cells and aid to unveil the role of mechanical stress in accelerating enteropathogen invasion. Our lab is working on establishing unique advanced microphysiological systems that can mimic the interaction between human epithelial barriers with the surrounding tissues, such as blood vessels, mesenchyme and immune cells. My scientific project is focused on the establishment of lung-on-chip devices that cover the entire respiratory tract (from the nasopharynx to the alveoli) as a platform to understand airborne infections and tropism of respiratory viruses. There we relay both on the use of lung multipotent stem cells grown as organoids, in order to produce the different cell population of the respiratory tract, and on microfluidic chips.

Paris Post-docs seminar series.

Publications

  1. Boquet-Pujadas A, Feaugas T, Petracchini A, Grassart A, Mary H, Manich M, Gobaa S, Olivo-Marin JC, Sauvonnet N, Labruyère E. 4D live imaging and computational modeling of a functional gut-on-a-chip evaluate how peristalsis facilitates enteric pathogen invasion. Sci Adv. 2022 Oct 21;8(42):eabo5767. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abo5767. Epub 2022 Oct 21. PMID: 36269830; PMCID: PMC9586479.
  2. Marko Z Nikolić Oriol Caritg Quitz Jeng Jo-Anne Johnson Dawei Sun Kate J Howell Jane L Brady Usua Laresgoiti George Allen Richard Butler Matthias Zilbauer Adam Giangreco Emma L Rawlins. (2017) Human embryonic lung epithelial tips are multipotent progenitors that can be expanded in vitro as long-term self-renewing organoids eLife 6:e26575.
  3. Hui, K.P.Y., Ho, J.C.W., Cheung, Mc. et al. SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant replication in human bronchus and lung ex vivo. Nature 603, 715–720 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04479-6
  4. Fonseca BF, Chakrabarti L. A close shave: How SARS-CoV-2 induces the loss of cilia. Journal of Cell Biology, 221 (7); e202206023, 2022.