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Stem cells

Intestinal tissue generated in vitro

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 8, page 63 (2011)Cite this article

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Induced pluripotent stem cells have been coaxed to develop into three-dimensional intestinal tissue in vitro by researchers from Ohio, USA. “This is an important first step in generating intestinal tissue for transplantation,” notes James Wells, corresponding author of the study. He suggests that such tissues could also be useful for screening and designing drugs with improved oral absorption.

Pluripotent stem cells can be induced to differentiate into a single cell type relatively easily, but getting them to produce all the cell types present in an organ and to replicate its complex three-dimensional architecture presents a considerable challenge. The team had previously identified molecular pathways that direct intestinal development in animal models. They then manipulated these same pathways in cultured stem cells to mimic the development of intestinal tissue during embryogenesis.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Spence, J. R. et al. Directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into intestinal tissue in vitro. Nature doi:10.1038/nature09691

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Authors
  1. Caroline Barranco
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Barranco, C. Intestinal tissue generated in vitro. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 8, 63 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2010.226

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