Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jun 23;22(13):6761.
doi: 10.3390/ijms22136761.

Necrotizing Enterocolitis: Overview on In Vitro Models

Luigia De Fazio  1   2 , Isadora Beghetti  1   3 , Salvatore Nicola Bertuccio  1   2 , Concetta Marsico  1   3 , Silvia Martini  1   3 , Riccardo Masetti  1   2 , Andrea Pession  1   2 , Luigi Corvaglia  1   3 , Arianna Aceti  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Necrotizing Enterocolitis: Overview on In Vitro Models

Luigia De Fazio et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a gut inflammatory disorder which constitutes one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality for preterm infants. The pathophysiology of NEC is yet to be fully understood; several observational studies have led to the identification of multiple factors involved in the pathophysiology of the disease, including gut immaturity and dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiome. Given the complex interactions between microbiota, enterocytes, and immune cells, and the limited access to fetal human tissues for experimental studies, animal models have long been essential to describe NEC mechanisms. However, at present there is no animal model perfectly mimicking human NEC; furthermore, the disease mechanisms appear too complex to be studied in single-cell cultures. Thus, researchers have developed new approaches in which intestinal epithelial cells are exposed to a combination of environmental and microbial factors which can potentially trigger NEC. In addition, organoids have gained increasing attention as promising models for studying NEC development. Currently, several in vitro models have been proposed and have contributed to describe the disease in deeper detail. In this paper, we will provide an updated review of available in vitro models of NEC and an overview of current knowledge regarding its molecular underpinnings.

Keywords: cellular lines; in vitro models; intestinal organoids; necrotizing enterocolitis; preterm infants.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Intestinal organoids’ cellular sources.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Patel R.M., Kandefer S., Walsh M.C., Bell E.F., Carlo W.A., Laptook A.R., Sánchez P.J., Shankaran S., Van Meurs K.P., Ball M.B., et al. Causes and Timing of Death in Extremely Premature Infants from 2000 through 2011. N. Engl. J. Med. 2015;372:331–340. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1403489. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Battersby C., Longford N., Mandalia S., Costeloe K., Modi N. Incidence and enteral feed antecedents of severe neonatal necrotising enterocolitis across neonatal networks in England, 2012–2013: A whole-population surveillance study. Lancet Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 2017;2:43–51. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(16)30117-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Alsaied A., Islam N., Thalib L. Global incidence of Necrotizing Enterocolitis: A systematic review and Meta-analysis. BMC Pediatr. 2020;20:344. doi: 10.1186/s12887-020-02231-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lin P.W., Stoll B.J. Necrotising enterocolitis. Lancet. 2006;368:1271–1283. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69525-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Neu J., Walker W.A. Necrotizing Enterocolitis. N. Engl. J. Med. 2011;364:255–264. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1005408. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources