CONTEXT

Scientific literature sheds light on the importance of gastro-intestinal tract and gut microbiota for human health and well-being. The physiologic effects of nutrients, bio-actives and even toxic compounds (including foodborne pathogens) are mediated by their fate/absorption rate in the digestive environment and by their interactions with gut microbiota and its host ecosystem. Testing food, feed, supplements or drugs in clinical studies gives rise to ethical issues, and the transferability of animal data across species is often problematic because of differences in physiology, metabolism and chemical susceptibilities. According to a recent survey of European Commission (EURL ECVAM, 2021), complex in vitro model approaches should be adequate not only for regulatory use-contexts, but also for application in the research field provided that standardized models are developed, enabling a consensus on their use.

OBJECTIVES

The new COST Action INFOGUT would fill the knowledge gap on in vitro models simulating gut microbiota in animals and humans, providing consensus protocols and robust data sets to improve our knowledge of the events taking place in the intestinal milieu, including the complex interactions between the microbiota and the host. Moreover, innovative educational tools will be suggested to increase knowledge on gut models in young researchers and widen to society to avoid any unhealthy consumer choices coming from misleading messages. Bringing together different experts in Gastroenterology, Microbiology, Physiology, Nutrition, Food Science, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, the new COST Action represents an effective strategy for the development of healthy food and for the counteraction of diseases.

The INFOGUT COST action is divided in 5 main working groups (WG):

• WG 1: Review of existing in vitro human colon models and establishment of harmonized guidelines to enable better comparison of data from different models.
• WG2: Extension to other gut compartments and host interactions
• WG3: Extension to diseased situations
• WG4: Data science and data management
• WG5: Regulatory, education, technology transfer, trainings and dissemination

FUNDING

COST action European funding - Chair of the action University of Bologna (Andrea Gianotti - andrea.gianotti [at] unibo.it)

CONTACT PERSONS

Stéphanie BLANQUET-DIOT (stephanie.blanquet [at] uca.fr) - Vice-Chair
Lucie ETIENNE-MESMIN (lucie.etienne-mesmin [at] uca.fr) - WG3 leader