Main Category: Stem Cell Research
Also Included In: GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology
Article Date: 14 Oct 2013 – 0:00 PDT
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MLA
Chief cells normally produce digestive fluids for the stomach. Mills studies their transformation into stem cells for injury repair. He also is investigating the possibility that the potential for growth unleashed by this change may contribute to stomach cancers.
This research was supported by funding from the Centre for Biomedical Genetics, the European Research Council (EU-232814-StemCellMark, EU/Health-F4-2007-200720, DK09489, and 2P30 DK052574), the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF2011-357-C00093), the Wellcome Trust (097922/C/11/Z), EU Marie Curie Fellowships (EU/236954-ICSC-Lgr5, and EU/300-686-InfO), and TI PHarma (T3-106).
Mills’ other goals include learning if the chief cells’ transformations are triggered by signals sent by injured tissue, by damage sensors on the chief cells or by some combination of these methods.
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Washington University School of Medicine
“We already knew that these cells, which are called chief cells, can change back into stem cells to make temporary repairs in significant stomach injuries, such as a cut or damage from infection,” said Jason Mills, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at Washington University. “The fact that they’re making this transition more often, even in the absence of noticeable injuries, suggests that it may be easier than we realized to make some types of mature, specialized adult cells revert to stem cells.”
Differentiated Troy+ Chief Cells Act as Reserve Stem Cells to Generate All Lineages of the Stomach Epithelium
If a significant injury is introduced in cell cultures or in animal models, more chief cells become stem cells, making it possible to fix the damage.
Stem cells can make multiple kinds of specialized cells, and scientists have been working for years to use that ability to repair injuries throughout the body. But causing specialized adult cells to revert to stem cells and work on repairs has been challenging.
stem cell research section for the latest news on this subject.
