Scientists Grow Intestine Using Stem Cells

For the first time, scientists have created functioning human intestinal tissue in the lab from pluripotent stem cells. The scientists from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in the U.S. say their findings will open the door to unprecedented studies of human intestinal development, function and diseases.

Other research areas opened up include creating intestinal tissue for transplantation and investigating drugs than can be better absorbed by the body, since the intestine absorbs most drugs taken orally.




To make the intestinal tissue, two types of pluripotent cells: human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were generated by reprogramming biopsied human skin cells into pluripotent stem cells. hESCs are called pluripotent because they can become any of the more than 200 different cell types in the human body. iPSCs can be generated from the cells of individual patients, and therapeutic cells derived from those iPSCs would have that person’s genetic makeup and not be at risk of rejection. Because iPSC technology is new, it remains unknown if these cells have all of the potential of hESCs. This prompted the researchers to use both iPSCs and human embryonic stem cells in this study so they could further test and compare the transformative capabilities of each.


A series of timed cell manipulations using chemicals and proteins called growth factors were used to mimic embryonic intestinal development in the laboratory.
The first step turned pluripotent stem cells into an embryonic cell type called definitive endoderm, which gives rise to the lining of the esophagus, stomach and intestines as well as the lungs, pancreas and liver. Next, endoderm cells were instructed to become one those organ cell types, specifically embryonic intestinal cells called “hindgut progenitors.” The researchers then subjected the cells to what they describe as a “pro-intestinal” cell culture system that promoted intestinal growth.


Within 28 days, these steps resulted in the formation of three-dimensional tissue resembling fetal intestine that contained all the major intestinal cell types – including enterocytes, goblet, Paneth and enteroendocrine cells. The tissue continued to mature and acquire both the absorptive and secretory functionality of normal human intestinal tissues and also formed intestine-specific stem cells.

In the study, the team of scientists was led by Dr. Wells and study first author Jason Spence, PhD – a member of Dr. Wells’ laboratory.

Source: http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/about/news/release...

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