Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine
Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine
istologische Aufnahme eines Darmschnitts mit Hämatoxylin-Eosin-(HE)-Färbung. Hämatoxylin färbt saure (basophile) Strukturen wie Zellkerne blau-violett. Eosin färbt basische (acidophile/eosinophile) Strukturen wie Zytoplasma sowie extrazelluläre Matrix rosa.
© Fraunhofer ITEM, Dirk Schaudien
istologische Aufnahme eines Darmschnitts mit Hämatoxylin-Eosin-(HE)-Färbung. Hämatoxylin färbt saure (basophile) Strukturen wie Zellkerne blau-violett. Eosin färbt basische (acidophile/eosinophile) Strukturen wie Zytoplasma sowie extrazelluläre Matrix rosa.

Unlocking Insights with Precision-cut Intestinal Slices

We test therapeutic safety and efficacy in human intestinal tissue for early translational proof-of-concept.

© Fraunhofer ITEM, Dirk Schaudien

Platform Technology: Precision-cut Intestinal Slices

Intestinal diseases such as IBD involve complex interactions between epithelial, immune, and stromal cells. Precision-cut intestinal slices (PCIS) preserve this native human tissue context ex vivo, enabling disease-relevant analysis of inflammatory responses, barrier injury, tissue remodeling, and drug effects under near-native conditions.

Pioneers in Precision-cut Intestinal Slices

Fraunhofer ITEM applies human tissue slice expertise to intestinal disease research. Our PCIS platform preserves native tissue complexity and supports studies of inflammation, immune activation, drug efficacy, safety, and regional responses.

© Fraunhofer ITEM, Klaudia Maria Grieger

Fresh Human Intestinal Tissue Directly from Surgery

We source intestinal tissue directly in collaboration with local hospitals, enabling immediate preparation post-surgery, from tumor resections or patients with inflammatory bowel disease, under strict ethical standards.

© Fraunhofer ITEM, Klaudia Maria Grieger

Expertise in Human Intestine Preparation

Our team uses established preparation workflows to preserve the intestinal structure and enable precise sectioning, including all mucosal layers of the intestinal wall. This ensures high quality samples for advanced intestinal research.

© Fraunhofer ITEM, Klaudia Maria Grieger

Immunocompetence of PCIS

Our intestinal tissue slices are immunocompetent, retaining relevant immune cell populations such as T cells and macrophages within the tissue. Resident immune cells respond to stimuli with distinct activation patterns and disease-dependent response signatures.

© Fraunhofer ITEM, Klaudia Maria Grieger

Expanded endpoints in PCIS

Apart from epithelial and immune cells, PCIS also contain structural cells, enabling the analysis of complex tissue responses beyond classical inflammation. We continuously expand our endpoints, with a particular focus on intestinal fibrosis.

PCIS: A Valuable Tool in Drug Development

Precision-cut intestinal slices (PCIS) are living tissue sections that maintain the native architecture and cellular composition of the intestine ex vivo.

Originally developed to study drug metabolism and toxicity, we have refined the PCIS technology with a particular focus on local immune responses and disease-relevant signaling. The system retains epithelial, immune, and structural cell populations, providing a unique window into human intestinal (patho-)physiology.

This makes PCIS a valuable translational platform for studying intestinal diseases such as IBD and for linking mechanistic insights to the human tissue context. 

Learn more about our preclinical research

Diseases

 
Our human, disease-relevant models for respiratory diseases:
 

Fibrosis

Asthma

COPD

Airway infection

Cancer

Technologies


Predictive platform technologies for safety and efficacy testing: 
 

Precision-cut Lung Slices (PCLS)

Precision-cut Liver Slices (PCIS)

Inhalation Toxicology

Isolated perfused rat lung (IPL) for absorption kinetics studies

Physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling (PBPK)

P.R.I.T.®-Expo-System: In-vitro testing of airborne substances

»iMacroMAT«: iPSC-derived macrophages for pyrogen testing

Related applications

Our work with precision-cut intestinal slices (PCIS) builds on more than 20 years of experience in precision-cut lung slices (PCLS). This long-standing expertise is reflected in over 70 peer-reviewed publications and provides a strong scientific and methodological foundation for our liver slice research.

By transferring established slice-based technologies, analytical workflows, and translational approaches from lung to liver tissue, we ensure robust, reproducible, and highly relevant human tissue models for biomedical research and drug development.