Bioengineered intestinal tubules as a tool to test intestinal biological efficacy of lettuce species

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is one of the most consumed vegetables, with breeding focused on agronomic traits rather than consumer health effects. Using a bioengineered intestinal tubule, we assessed intestinal biological efficacy of extracts from five accessions spanning four Lactuca species: domesticated L. sativa, closely related wild L. serriola, and more distant wild relatives L. saligna and L. virosa. Readouts included epithelial barrier integrity, cell viability, cell attachment, brush border enzyme activity, and immune markers. Extracts from L. sativa cv. Salinas decreased cell attachment and brush border enzyme activity, whereas extracts from non-edible wild L. saligna and L. virosa reduced epithelial barrier functions, cell attachment, cell viability, and brush border enzyme activity. Given the value of wild species as germplasm, bioengineered intestinal tubules can help evaluate safety and nutritional properties of lettuce breeding material derived from crosses with wild Lactuca species.

Paulus G. M. Jochems, Bo Heming, Dmitry Lapin, Naomi E. L. Moonen, Guido Van den Ackerveken, Rosalinde Masereeuw