Scientists grow tiny human stomachs in lab

30 October 2014 - 13:36 By Times LIVE
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Stomach cancer. File picture
Stomach cancer. File picture
Image: Nephron

Scientists have managed to grow miniature stomachs in a laboratory from human stem cells.

According to Nature.com, the lumps of living tissue are no bigger than a sesame seed, but have a similar gland structure to naturally developed human stomachs and can even harbour gut bacteria.

This means that scientists can use these mini stomaches to better understand diseases like cancer, and test how they respond to drugs.

The researchers have already started injecting the stomachs with Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that targets the antrum and can cause ulcers and stomach cancer.

According to the report, within 24 hours, the team found that H. pylori was causing the organoid cells to divide twice as fast as normal, and activating a particular gene, c-Met, that can cause tumours. These effects are also seen in human stomachs infected with H. pylori.

“This is extremely exciting,” says Calvin Kuo, a stem-cell biologist at Stanford University in California. “To be able to recapitulate that in a dish is quite a technical achievement.”

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