Giovedì 9 e venerdì 10 luglio avrà luogo a Pisa il convegno internazionale dal titolo “GUT BARRIER 2026: The novel frontier in digestive and extra-digestive diseases”.
The intestinal barrier—comprising mucus layer, epithelial barrier, gut vascular/lymphatic barrier— has emerged as a critical determinant of health and disease. By regulating nutrient absorption and protecting against microbial translocation, the gut barrier represents a key interface between the host, the intestinal microbiota, and the immune and enteric nervous systems.
Growing evidence links intestinal barrier dysfunction to a broad spectrum of digestive and extra-digestive disorders, including inflammatory bowel diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, metabolic conditions, and neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases.
These insights are opening new opportunities for the development of innovative diagnostics, biomarkers, therapeutics, and personalized interventions targeting the gut barrier.
The GUT BARRIER 2026: The Novel Frontier in Digestive and Extra-Digestive Diseases brings together leading experts from basic, translational, and clinical research. Through four focused sessions, the meeting will highlight cutting-edge discoveries and emerging technologies with direct relevance for industry, fostering dialogue on translational pathways, clinical validation, and future collaborations aimed at accelerating innovation and improving patient outcomes.
Programma
9 luglio
13:00-13:30
Registration of Participants
13:30-14:00
Welcome Address, introduction to “GUT BARRIER 2026: The novel frontier in digestive and extra digestive diseases”
Opening lecture
Chaired by: Carmelo Scarpignato (Msida, Malta)
14:00-14:30
Leaky gut, leaky brain?
Giovanni Barbara (Bologna, Italy)
Session 1 – Gut barrier: advances in its role in physiology and pathology
Chairpersons: Maria Cecilia Giron (Padava, Italy), Lorenzo Di Cesare Mannelli (Firenze, Italy)
14:30-15:00
How leaky is the gut in Parkinson’s disease?
Carolina Pellegrini (Pisa, Italy)
15:00-15:30
Intestinal barrier at the crossroads between IBS and vulvodynia
Elena Lucarini (Firenze, Italy)
15:30-16:00
Opening the doors of precision medicine: novel tools to assess intestinal barrier in inflammatory bowel disease and colitis-associated neoplasia
Antonio Di Sabatino (Pavia, Italy)
16:00-16:30
Coffee break
Keynote lecture
Chaired by: Maria Raffaella Barbaro (Bologna, Italy)
16:30-17:00
Gut-on-a-chip platforms bridging in vitro and in vivo models for advanced gut research
Silvia Scaglione (Genova, Italy)
Session 2 – Methodology to study the leaky gut
Chairpersons: Vicenzo Calderone (Pisa, Italy), Andrea Castagnetti (Bologna, Italy)
17:00-17:30
Assessing epithelial and vascular integrity and permeability
Maria Raffaella Barbaro (Bologna, Italy)
17:30-18:00
Multiomics approaches for gut barrier
Simone Guglielmetti (Milano, Italy)
18:00-18:30
Assessing gut microbiota-intestinal barrier interplay
Gianluca Ianiro (Roma, Italy)
18:30-18:45
Concluding remarks day 1
10 luglio
Keynote lecture
Chaired by: Nunzia Bernardini (Pisa, Italy)
9:00-9:30
Gut vascular barrier: functions and disease implications
Paola Brescia (Milano, Italy)
Session 1 – Gut barrier and therapeutical interventions
Chairpersons: Rocchina Colucci (Padova, Italy), Luca Antonioli (Pisa, Italy)
9:30-10:00
Gut microbiota in Pancreatic Diseases
Gabriele Capurso (Milano, Italy)
10:00-10:30
Gut microbiota in IBD: from pathogenesis to treatment
Piero Portincasa (Bari, Italy)
10:30-11:00
Gut microbiota biofilms: current status and therapeutic perspectives
Stefania Vetrano (Milan, Italy)
11:00-11:30
Coffee break
Session 2 – Gut barrier and clinical implications
Chairpersons: Massimo Bellini (Pisa, Italy), Flavio Caprioli (Milano, Italy)
11:30-12:00
Microbiota and prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics for the protection of gut barrier
Patrizia Brigidi (Bologna, Italy)
12:00-12:30
The Early Biological Effects of Probiotics
Federica Facciotti (Milan, Italy)
12:30-13:00
Drugs and Gut Microbiota: Interactions and Clinical Consequences
Carmelo Scarpignato (Msida, Malta)
13:00-13:15
Concluding remarks
13:15
Lunch
Brochure e modalità di iscrizione e di pagamento
Il termine ultimo per la registrazione è il 28 giugno 2026.
