Epithelial Monolayer Infection
Epithelial Monolayer Infection - Related Videos
02:28
Assessing Transcytosis of E. coli Across Intestinal Epithelial Monolayers
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2025
Source: Islam, A., et al., Assessment of Intestinal Transcytosis of Neonatal Escherichia coli Bacteremia Isolates. J. Vis. Exp. (2023)This video demonstrates the procedure for assessing transcytosis of neonatal Escherichia coli across intestinal epithelial monolayers using transwell inserts, electrical resistance measurement, and bacterial quantification.
11:49
Analysis of the Epithelial Damage Produced by Entamoeba histolytica Infection
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Cited by 5 •
2014
Human infection by Entamoeba histolytica leads to amoebiasis, a major cause of diarrhea in tropical countries. Infection is initiated by pathogen interactions with intestinal epithelial cells, provoking the opening of cell-cell contacts and consequently diarrhea, sometimes followed by liver infection. This article provides a model to assess the early host-pathogen interactions to improve our understanding of amoebiasis pathogenesis.
08:01
Live Calcium Imaging of Virus-Infected Human Intestinal Organoid Monolayers Using Genetically Encoded Calcium Indicators
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Cited by 5 •
2024
This protocol describes an approach for performing calcium imaging in virus-infected human intestinal organoids and offers an approach to analysis.
02:51
Stress Granule Formation During Shigella Infection of Cancerous Epithelial Cells
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2026
Source: Vonaesch, P. et. al., Immunofluorescence Analysis of Stress Granule Formation After Bacterial Challenge of Mammalian Cells. J. Vis. Exp. (2017)This video demonstrates the infection of epithelial cells with the pathogenic bacterium Shigella flexneri and the resulting host cellular response. Bacterial effector proteins disrupt host translation, triggering the formation of membrane-less organelles called stress granules, which reflect the cell's adaptive response to infection.
03:43
Virus Plaque Assay: A Technique to Measure Infectious Herpes Simplex Virus via Quantification of Plaques Formed in Monolayer of Virus-Infected Cells
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2025
This video describes the virus plaque assay of the infectious herpes simplex virus or HSV. The diluted viral particles are inoculated to the monolayer of epithelial cells. Upon incubation, the virus forms plaques and is counted visually to determine the infectious virus titer.
FAQs
The process begins when a microorganism or virus contacts the apical surface, the side of the epithelial layer facing the external environment. Attachment can be followed by entry into susceptible cells and replication, allowing investigators to examine how pathogens cross or disturb a tissue-like barrier. These events connect microbial behavior with measurable cellular responses.
Barrier integrity indicates whether infection changes the epithelial layer’s ability to function as a continuous protective boundary. Pathogen activity and cellular responses can alter this organization, producing damage or facilitating spread across the model. Measuring these effects helps link microbial virulence with tissue-level consequences rather than evaluating pathogen replication alone.
Epithelial cells do more than serve as targets for infection. After detecting or experiencing pathogen-associated effects, they can alter cellular signaling and release innate immune mediators such as cytokines. These responses provide evidence of epithelial participation in host defense and help investigators relate infection-related signaling to changes in barrier condition and pathogen behavior.
A typical workflow establishes a continuous cultured epithelial layer, exposes its apical surface to a selected microorganism or virus, and then evaluates the resulting interaction. Investigators can examine infection, cellular damage, pathogen spread, and immune mediator release. Because the system is controlled in vitro, these observations can be compared across experimental conditions.
Readouts can distinguish several related outcomes: whether infection occurs, whether cells sustain damage, how far the pathogen spreads, and whether epithelial cells release cytokines. Considering these measurements together helps separate pathogen growth from host injury or immune activation. The combined profile can reveal how a particular host-pathogen interaction affects the epithelial barrier.
This model supports studies of microbial virulence, antiviral or antimicrobial defenses, and candidate treatments. It is especially useful when researchers need a tissue-like epithelial context while maintaining controlled experimental conditions. Findings can help prioritize mechanisms or interventions for later examination in more complex tissues or organisms, without treating the monolayer as a complete substitute for them.