Microfluidic Device Using Mouse Small Intestinal Tissue for the Observation of Fluidic Behavior in the Lumen

The small intestine has the majority of a host's immune cells, and it controls immune responses. Immune responses are induced by a gut bacteria sampling process in the small intestine. The mechanism of immune responses in the small intestine is studied by genomic or histological techniques after in vivo experiments. While the distribution of gut bacteria, which can be decided by the fluid flow field in the small intestinal tract, is important for immune responses, the fluid flow field has not been studied due to limits in experimental methods. Here, we propose a microfluidic device with chemically fixed small intestinal tissue as a channel. A fluid flow field in the small intestinal tract with villi was observed and analyzed by particle image velocimetry. After the experiment, the distribution of microparticles on the small intestinal tissue was histologically analyzed. The result suggests that the fluid flow field supports the settlement of microparticles on the villi.

Automated summary

The small intestine is the main site for host immune cells and immune responses are induced through a gut bacteria sampling process. A new microfluidic device was proposed in this study to observe the fluid flow field supporting microparticle settlement on villi in the small intestine.