EPEC bacteria can cause acute intestinal inflammation, which particularly affects young children. The research breakthrough was achieved using so-called organoids—organ-like microtissues created in the laboratory. To do this, the team used tissue-resident stem cells from patients to develop organoids.

Human intestinal organoid. 
Copyright: Alfonso Vieiria and Roman Sprick.

Using cells from gastric organoids, the team has already demonstrated that the bacterium Helicobacter pylori—which can cause stomach cancer—“sniffs out” a very specific cell type in the stomach mucosa, known as pit cells, to which it attaches itself. 

With her organoid research, Prof. Sina Bartfeld will also be represented in Berlin at the new research center “The Simulated Human” (Si-M) jointly established by the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin) and Charité – University Hospital Berlin, which is set to open on April 22, 2026, in Berlin-Wedding. She is also co-spokesperson for Si-M.

Original publication:
Neyazi, M., Samperio Ventayol, P., Burkard, N., Schlegel, N., Aguilar, C., and Bartfeld, S. (2026), Enteropathogenic E. coli shows delayed attachment and host response in human jejunum organoid-derived monolayers compared to HeLa cells. FEBS Lett. https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.70182

Source and further information:
https://www.tu.berlin/news/pressemitteilung/mit-organoiden-gegen-magen-und-darminfektionen