Almost an intestine made of stem cells

A group of Japanese scientists from the Institute of Medicine of Nara Prefecture for the first time in the world managed to grow a fragment of the intestine from induced pluripotent stem cells of a mouse, RIA Novosti reports.

During a six-day experiment, scientists led by Professor Yoshiyuki Nakajima were able to grow a three-dimensional tube-shaped intestinal fragment from mouse-induced stem cells. The size of the resulting fragment is 2 mm in diameter and 5 millimeters in length. Despite its small size, the artificially grown intestine has the ability to peristalsis characteristic of the real intestine – wave-like contractions that move its contents along the tube.

Upon careful examination of the tube walls, scientists found that they have a mucous membrane, muscles and nerve endings, that is, the grown fragment completely repeats the structure of the intestine. Thus, for the first time in the world, a three-dimensional fragment of an internal organ was obtained from induced pluripotent stem cells.

"Perhaps this is a matter of the near future, but we hope that it will be possible to grow a small intestine in this way. Now the transplantation of small intestine to patients is associated with great difficulties due to the high degree of rejection. If it is possible to grow a human intestine from the cells of the person who needs a transplant, the problem of suppressing immunity (due to the danger of rejection) will disappear, and the benefits for patients are obvious," says Professor Nakajima.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru10.03.2010