Human colon stem cells identified

Wed Sep 7, 2011

An international team of scientists have successfully isolated and grown human colon stem cells from fresh biopsy samples in a lab-plate for the first time.

Led by Professor Eduard Battle from Barcelona's Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), and Toshiro Sato at University Medical Center Utrecht in The Netherlands, the team managed to identify and localize human colon stem cells (CoSCs).

According to the article published in Nature Medicine, CoSCs renew the epithelial cells lining the large intestine, which their malfunction and changes may cause diseases such as colorectal cancer.

Researchers also developed a method to obtain the newly found stem cells through biopsy and isolate and grow them outside the body in lab-plates.

“This is the first time that it has been possible to grow single CoSCs in lab-plates and to derive human intestinal stem cell lines in defined conditions in a lab setting,” said study author Peter Jung from IRB, Barcelona.

“For years, scientists all over the world have been trying to grow intestinal tissue in lab-plates; testing different conditions; using different nutritive media. But because the vast majority of cells in this tissue are in a differentiated state in which they do not proliferate, they survived only for a few days,” he added.

The new findings may lead to further understandings about many complicated intestinal disease and new effective treatments.

The discovery can also provide grounds for future studies about stem cell therapies, organ development and regenerating defected intestine for patients.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/197899.html.