Intestine organoids grown from stem cells open doors for bioengineered tissue, personalized medicine
Doctors in the Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery are exploring unprecedented areas of tissue bioengineering and personalized medicine through their documented ability to grow human intestinal tissue from stem cells, transplant the tissues into mice and watch them perform as fully functioning human intestines.
In an Oct. 19, 2014 study in Nature Medicine, Michael Helmrath, MD, MS, of the Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery, reported his team had generated human intestinal organoids (HIOs) by manipulating either human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) or induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs). Implanted into mice and connected to the kidney for blood flow, the HOIs developed specialized intestinal epithelial and stem cells, enzymes, and vascular structures of the intestines. They also demonstrated basic digestive functions.
“The ability to regrow an organ is now possible, and it’s so impressive how the cells themselves know how to do this,” says Helmrath. “These studies support the concept that patient-specific cells can be used to grow intestine, and they provide a new way to study the many diseases and conditions that can cause intestinal failure, from genetic disorders appearing at birth to conditions that strike later in life, such as cancer and Crohn’s disease. These studies also advance the longer-term goal of growing tissues that can replace damaged human intestine.”
The ability to grow intestines from a patient’s own cells also has broad implications for organ translation, post-surgical responses, accelerated drug development (by bypassing animal tests), and developing personalized medicine protocols for patients, depending on how their tissues respond to certain drugs or treatments.
