Development and application of an immunocompetent human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived intestinal epithelial cell model for hazard assessment of the oral exposure route

Human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) layers have the potential to provide an increasingly improved alternative to cell lines as they differentiate into multiple intestinal cell types that are also present in vivo. However, these models currently lack immunocompetence, as they do not contain immune cells like for instance dendritic cells (DCs) that play an important role in intestinal immune responses. This study aimed to develop and characterize an immunocompetent hiPSC-derived model, by co-culturing IEC layers with MUTZ-3 derived DCs. The results show that the co-culture of IECs and DCs has little effect on cellular composition, but increases cytokine expression. The study also investigated the effects of micro/nanoplastics on the immunocompetent IEC layers and found that 24h and 48h exposure of iDCs to micro/nanoplastics did not result in strong immunomodulatory effects of any of the materials tested.