AUTHOR=Raimondi Ilaria , Izzo Luca , Tunesi Marta , Comar Manola , Albani Diego , Giordano Carmen TITLE=Organ-On-A-Chip in vitro Models of the Brain and the Blood-Brain Barrier and Their Value to Study the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis in Neurodegeneration JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology VOLUME=7 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2019.00435 DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2019.00435 ISSN=2296-4185 ABSTRACT=
We are accumulating evidence that intestinal microflora, collectively named gut microbiota, can alter brain pathophysiology, but researchers have just begun to discover the mechanisms of this bidirectional connection (often referred to as microbiota-gut-brain axis, MGBA). The most noticeable hypothesis for a pathological action of gut microbiota on the brain is based on microbial release of soluble neurotransmitters, hormones, immune molecules and neuroactive metabolites, but this complex scenario requires reliable and controllable tools for its causal demonstration. Thanks to three-dimensional (3D) cultures and microfluidics, engineered in