Authors

Discussion

Infections of the gastrointestinal tract cause serious economic and welfare issues in agriculture, and carry a risk of zoonotic transmission. A better understanding of the earliest post-infection events occurring at the intestinal epithelium is required to develop novel therapeutics and vaccines that would address concerning rises in anti-microbial resistance. The in vitro 3D culture of intestinal epithelium isolated from mice or humans as organoids (or “mini-guts”) has generated a large volume of data on epithelial development, physiology, and disease in the species. However, the potential importance of organoid cultures in veterinary health and zoonotic disease research has been largely overlooked. By modifying and refining protocols for the culture of murine organoids, we have successfully established porcine and bovine intestinal organoids, which remain viable and regenerate in culture for a period of several months. Importantly, we were able to utilize tissue obtained from abattoirs that would otherwise be considered a waste-product of food production, providing an accessible, ethically-sound and continuous source of material. Further, we demonstrated that our organoid cultures are susceptible to infection by Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum, and show host-species specific responses. In conclusion, our 3D organoid models offer a long term, renewable resource for investigating species-specific intestinal infections with a variety of pathogens.

This work was funded by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Tools and Resources Development Fund grant (BB/M019071/1)