Source: University of Michigan Health System
Date: October 4, 2007
Summary:
Scientists have identified and described stem cells specific to several tissues and organs of the body -- key master cells that give rise to the specialized cell types characteristic of that organ. But to date, it hasn't been possible to pinpoint functioning stem cells in the stomach, either in laboratory animals or people. Now, a group of University of Michigan Medical School researchers has succeeded in finding and manipulating a population of cells that strongly resemble stem cells in the stomachs of mice. They have been able to show that these cells, which they call "gastric progenitor cells," can give rise to all the different types (or lineages) of specialized cells needed to form the functional stomach glands that line the lower portion of the stomach. This property of "multi-lineage potential" is considered a key stem cell property.
