An automated cell counter to automate quantification steps in cell culture

Research on nutrient absorption, intestinal development, and immune function often depends on animal experimentation, making the ethical implications of animal sacrifice a significant concern, especially in those scenarios where induced animal suffering is required to mimic a specific pathological or inflammatory status. The development of cell culture models like organoids grown from stem cells in vitro offers an alternative platform for studying the (patho)-physiology of given diseases.

To ensure precision, reproducibility, and data integrity, it is essential to accurately quantify the number of cultivated cells (intestinal epithelial cells and immune cells). Up to now, we have relied on manual cell counting, a time-consuming and error-prone method that lacks digital traceability. This not only impacts efficiency but also introduces variability in results. With the financial support kindly provided by the UniBern Forschungsstiftung we could acquire an automated cell counting system. This instrument significantly streamlines workflows, reduces human error, and ensures consistent, high-quality data. Moreover, by minimizing handling time, the automatic cell counter improves cell viability, which is critical for downstream analyses.

Intestinal tissues from different species (e.g., swine, rabbit, horse) were successfully cultured and challenged with different inflammatory agents at concomitantly different substrate availability. Our research group aims at establishing a multi-species organoid repository, including healthy and diseased/inflamed tissues, particularly derived from different sections of the intestinal tract. Thus, we can study the persistence of inflammatory phenotypes, and the regulatory pathways involved in maintaining homeostasis and in shaping the mucosal immune response to compounds that may (or may not) promote tissue regeneration and health at a single-organoid level. We evaluate how nutrients, bioactive compounds and environmental pollutants are absorbed, metabolized, and transported within tissues. In the long-term, this platform has the potential to advance the development of more precise, species-specific therapies and nutritional interventions.

Dr. Dora Bordoni
Prof. Dr. Josef Gross

Veterinary Physiology, Vetsuisse Faculty