Dulantha Ulluwishewa
Doctor of Philosophy, (Nutritional Science)
Study Completed: 2013
College of Sciences
Citation
Thesis Title
Interactions between commensal obligate anaerobes and human intestinal cells
Read article at Massey Research Online: 
Our intestine functions as barrier between us and our outside environment. Proper regulation of the intestinal barrier is vital for good health. The commensal bacteria that inhabit our intestines are known to influence aspects of barrier function. Over 90% of the commensal bacteria are obligate anaerobes, meaning they cannot survive in the presence of oxygen. Understanding the mechanisms through which bacteria affect the intestinal barrier is hindered by the difficulty in culturing obligate anaerobes together with oxygen-requiring human intestinal cells. Mr Ulluwishewa made the significant contribution to the development and validation of an ‘apical anaerobic’ model of the human intestinal barrier which allowed epithelial cells to be grown such that the apical (luminal) side of these cells were exposed to an anaerobic environment while maintaining an aerobic basal side. He showed that that live obligate anaerobes exert different effects on intestinal epithelial cells than non-viable bacteria demonstrating the usefulness this physiologically relevant model.
Supervisors
Dr Wc McNabb
Dr Rachel Anderson
Professor Jerry Wells
Distinguished Professor Paul Moughan
Dr Nicole Roy