Single Lgr5 stem cells build crypt-villus structures in vitro without a mesenchymal niche

30 March 2009

It is possible to grow adult intestinal tissue in culture from just one intestinal stem cell. The tissue has the same structure as a normal intestine and continues to grow for many months. The cultured ‘intestine’ self-organizes itself when the intestinal stem cell is administered the right nutrients. Researchers from the Hubrecht Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) describe this scientific breakthrough in their paper which was published in the journal Nature on March 29, 2009 (online).

The central focus of this research is the intestinal stem cell that can be recognized by the protein Lgr5 on its surface. The researchers isolated these stem cells from mouse intestines. When the cells are provided with the right growth medium and stimulated with growth factors, they develop into a kind of miniature intestine. The cultured intestine contains all the different kinds of adult cells. Professor Hans Clevers, who led this research, said: “Everything is in the right place. Apparently the intestine is formed when a single cell self-organizes itself and forms the necessary structures.”

This is the first time that researchers have succeeded in maintaining intestinal cells with a real intestinal structure for so long in culture. Moreover, the cultured intestine continues to grow, just as a normal intestine does, old cells are broken down automatically. “The culture system is unique”, Clevers says. “We allow the adult intestinal tissue to grow for many months. Each week, the tissue increases five times in size, but it remains completely normal in all respects."

The results mean a step forward for the field of regenerative medicine. This term encompasses the idea of developing or regenerating tissue outside the body in order to replace diseased tissue. The idea behind this development is to stimulate replacing animal studies with experiments on tissue outside the body.

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