IISc researchers design novel 3D hydrogel culture to study TB infection and treatment
3D hydrogel culture system that mimics the mammalian lung environment. It provides a powerful platform to track and study how tuberculosis bacteria infect lung cells and test the efficacy of therapeutics used to treat TB.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a dangerous pathogen. In 2022, it affected 10.6 million people and caused 1.3 million deaths, according to the WHO. “It is a very old bug, and it has evolved with us quite a bit,” said Rachit Agarwal, Associate Professor at BE and corresponding author of the study published in Advanced Healthcare Materials. Mtb primarily infects the lungs, IISc said in a press release.
Current culture models used to study Mtb infection have several limitations. They are typically culture plates that are monolayered and do not accurately mimic the 3D microenvironment inside the lungs. The microenvironment experienced by the cells in such 2D culture is vastly different from the actual extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounding lung tissue. “In a tissue culture plate, there are no ECM molecules, and even if a very thin layer of ECM is coated on these plates, the lung cells 'see' the ECM on one side at best,” said Vishal Gupta, PhD student at BE and first author.
The 2D culture plates are also extremely hard compared to the soft lung tissues. “You are looking at a rock versus a pillow,” explains Agarwal.
He and his team have now designed a novel 3D hydrogel culture made of collagen, a key molecule present in the ECM of lung cells. Collagen is soluble in
