Three years ago, Hans Clevers at his colleagues at the Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands discovered that a unique molecular marker called Lgr5 singled out stem cells in the mammalian intestine. Reporting yesterday at the International Society for Stem Cell Research meeting in San Francisco, Clevers claimed he can now expand these stem cells to grow as much intestinal tissue as needed for transplantation — and all without genetically altering the cells. “This would open a very classical way of regenerative medicine,” he said at a press conference.
Here’s a video from Clevers’ lab describing the crypt-ic stem cells:
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