Stem Cells Turned Into Complex, Functioning Intestinal Tissue in Lab

For the first time, scientists have created functioning human intestinal tissue in the laboratory from pluripotent stem cells. The process is also a significant step toward generating intestinal tissue for transplantation, researchers say.

"This is the first study to demonstrate that human pluripotent stem cells in a petri dish can be instructed to efficiently form human tissue with three-dimensional architecture and cellular composition remarkably similar to intestinal tissue," said James Wells, Ph.D., senior investigator on the study and a researcher in the division of Developmental Biology at Cincinnati Children's.

"The hope is that our ability to turn stem cells into intestinal tissue will eventually be therapeutically beneficial for people with diseases such as necrotizing enterocolitis, inflammatory bowel disease and short bowel syndromes," he added.

Source:

http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/about/news/release/2010/nature-stem-cells-12-12-2010.htm