Yi Dong, Blake A Johnson, Linhao Ruan, Maged Zeineldin, Tianhao Bi, Albert Z Liu, Sumana Raychaudhuri, Ian Chiu, Jin Zhu, Barbara Smith, Nan Zhao, Peter Searson, Shigeki Watanabe, Mark Donowitz, Tatianna C Larman, Rong Li
Inflammation-associated fibroblasts (IAFs) are associated with progression and drug resistance of chronic inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but their direct impact on epithelial cells is unknown. Here, we developed an in vitro model whereby human colon fibroblasts are induced by specific cytokines and recapitulate key features of IAFs in vivo. When cocultured with patient-derived colon organoids (colonoids), IAFs induced rapid colonoid expansion and barrier disruption due to swelling and rupture of individual epithelial cells...
April 5, 2024: Science Advances