Single Lgr5 Stem Cells Build Crypt-villus Structures in Vitro Without a Mesenchymal Niche

Overview

Journal Nature

Specialty Science

Date 2009 Mar 31

PMID 19329995

Citations 3394

Authors

Toshiro Sato

Robert G Vries

Hugo J Snippert

Marc van de Wetering

Nick Barker

Daniel E Stange

Johan H van Es

Arie Abo

Pekka Kujala

Peter J Peters

Hans Clevers

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The intestinal epithelium is the most rapidly self-renewing tissue in adult mammals. We have recently demonstrated the presence of about six cycling Lgr5(+) stem cells at the bottoms of small-intestinal crypts. Here we describe the establishment of long-term culture conditions under which single crypts undergo multiple crypt fission events, while simultanously generating villus-like epithelial domains in which all differentiated cell types are present. Single sorted Lgr5(+) stem cells can also initiate these cryptvillus organoids. Tracing experiments indicate that the Lgr5(+) stem-cell hierarchy is maintained in organoids. We conclude that intestinal cryptvillus units are self-organizing structures, which can be built from a single stem cell in the absence of a non-epithelial cellular niche.

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