Transformative Technologies - Development of Novel Three-dimensional Co-culture Models of Bacterial Host-pathogen Interactions

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Bacterial pathogens have evolved a diverse range of strategies to infect, survive, and replicate within a host. Investigating these host-pathogen interactions can help us to understand both the mechanisms of pathogenesis and the responses of mammalian cells to foreign invaders. However, our ability to dissect the host-pathogen relationship at a mechanistic level is hindered by a need for model systems that will allow us to manipulate both sides of this equation. The use of in vivo models limits our ability to alter host conditions during an infection. Moreover, we have a moral imperative to reduce the number of animals used for research by developing new technologies. In contrast, in vitro models utilizing a single cell type provide a highly malleable system that is appropriate for mechanistic studies, but often fail to accurately represent the complexities of a living system capable of inducing an immune response.