An <em>in vitro</em> model of stiffened colonic mucosa exhibits altered epithelial behavior

Stiffening of the extracellular matrix underlying the epithelial cells of the large intestine is associated with aging as well as many diseases. Yet the impact of the stiffened matrix on epithelial physiology remains poorly understood. A 2D and 3D microphysiological model of the large intestine was developed using a collagen scaffold with a physiologic or excessive stiffness (Young’s moduli of 2.84 ± 0.85 kPa and 15.9 ± 0.73 kPa) by altering the collagen concentration within the substrate. Diffusion of a 10 and 40 kDa fluorescent dextran was significantly different between the physiologic and stiff scaffold (97.8 vs 79.8 µm2/s [10 kDa] and 68.2 vs 56.8 µm2/s [40 kDa], respectively). When primary human epithelial cells of the large intestine were grown as a 2D monolayer, cultures on the physiologic scaffold grew to a significantly higher density with more proliferative and fewer differentiated cells than cultures on the stiffened scaffold. Three-dimensional crypt arrays were also fabrica..., , # Data from: An *in vitro* model of stiffened colonic mucosa exhibits altered epithelial behavior Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.fxpnvx15v](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.fxpnvx15v) ## Description of the data and file structure [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.tqjq2bw7b](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.tqjq2bw7b) Data characterizing epithelial cell behavior while cultured within an in vitro model built on a normal stiffness or pathological stiffness collagen hydrogel scaffold with or without supportive primary fibroblasts. This work was conducted entirely at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. The datasets enclosed herein represent the raw data collected for this original research. For any questions, please contact Angelo Massaro ([[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])). The corresponding article has been accepted for publication in *Biofabrication:* Massaro Angelo , Villegas Novoa Cecilia, Allbritton Nancy L. An In Vitro Model of Stiffened Colonic Mucosa Exhibits Altered Epithe..., ,