Scientists have been able to grow many different kinds of body parts and organs from stem cells. And now, researchers from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, working with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have grown miniature human stomachs.
Scientists have been able to grow many different kinds of body parts and organs from stem cells.
And now, researchers from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, working with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have grown miniature human stomachs.
At just over a tenth of an inch in diameter, these are the first in vitro models of human stomachs ever created.
Doctor James Wells, a stem cell biologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and a co-author of the study is quoted as saying: “Until this study, no one had generated gastric cells from human pluripotent stem cells. In addition, we discovered how to promote formation of three-dimensional gastric tissue with complex architecture and cellular composition.”
The stomachs were grown so that medical experts could observe what happens when harmful bacteria are introduced to the tissue.
Results of the study might be used to help scientists understand peptic ulcer disease, and precursors for stomach cancer, along with diabetes and obesity.
This study only focuses on the lower part of the stomach known as the antrum, but researchers are working towards growing other parts of the organ for further study into gastrointestinal diseases.
