Tissue engineering laboratory models of the small intestine.

In recent years, three-dimensional (3D) cell culture models of the small intestine have gained much attention. These models support cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation, and encourage tissue organization which is not possible in two-dimensional (2D) culture systems. Furthermore, the use of a wide variety of cell culture scaffolds and support substrates have revealed considerable differences in cell behavior and tissue organization. These systems have been used in combination with intestinal stem cells, organoid units or human colonic adenocarcinoma cell lines such as Caco-2 and HT29-MTX to generate a number of in vitro and in vivo models of the intestine. Here, we review the current 2D and 3D tissue engineering models of the intestine to determine the most effective sources of intestinal cells and current research on support scaffolds capable of inducing the morphological architecture and function of the intestinal mucosa.