Mini Stomachs Help Scientists Study Ulcers Grown By Stem Cells

Researchers at Cincinnati Children's hospital have made an amazing discovery. They've successfully constructed miniature human stomachs by using stem cells in order to study various diseases that affect the human stomach.

"Until this study, no one had generated gastric cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs)," said lead study author Jim Wells, in a news release. "In addition, we discovered how to promote formation of three-dimensional gastric tissue with complex architecture and cellular composition."

As it stands, these are the first examples of three-dimensional human stomach tissues created from pluripotent stem cells--otherwise known as cells that can be programmed to actually form any type of cell in the human body.

"In our hands they worked exactly the same," added Wells, via NBC News. "Both were able to generate, in a petri dish, human stomach tissue."

The tissue was about 1/10th of an inch in diameter, according to medical officials.

So far, the researchers have used these mini stomachs to absorb the behavior of H. pylori bacteria--a bacteria that's responsible for stomach inflammation that can lead to both stomach cancer and peptic ulcer disease, if left untreated.

"While research takes a long time, we're at a critical junction right now," Wells concluded, via the Cincinnati Business Courier. "We're really going to start seeing some important therapeutic milestones in the future, both through new drug discovery and longer-term replacement tissues for therapy."

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Nature.