The big picture about the growth of the small intestine

Babies born prematurely often face intense medical challenges, including underdeveloped or diseased intestines. Although a bowel transplant may benefit some patients, many babies are simply too small to support this procedure. Tracy Grikscheit, MD, a surgeon at Los Angeles Children's Hospital, is a leader in the field of tissue engineering: the culture of the intestines from stem cells. In an article published in the journal Cell strain cellDr. Grikscheit and his co-authors highlight how stem cell therapy is about to change the game for these babies.

Some premature babies are born with a severely underdeveloped gastrointestinal tract or can develop diseases such as necrotizing enterocolitis, which attacks the intestines. In severe cases, surgical removal of the affected intestines must be performed. This can have disastrous consequences.

Most nutrients and water are absorbed in the small intestine. Thus, if patients do not have enough healthy tissue, they can suffer serious complications such as malnutrition or dehydration, also called short bowel syndrome. To get the proper nutrients, patients sometimes have to be fed by means of a feeding tube or intravenously using a needle into the bloodstream. In the most severe cases of short bowel syndrome, the only solution is the small bowel transplant from donor tissue. but that too comes with its own list of problems. Babies must be tall enough for this procedure, which often means that they have to wait several months. Even in this case, the road is not easy. Patients should take anti-rejection drugs, which have their own side effects and the success rate of the transplant is only about 50%.

With such challenges, the future looks bleak for these babies. For Dr. Grikscheit, that is not acceptable. She wants more for her patients and she envisions a world in which missing parts of the intestines can be cultivated.

Scientists like Dr. Grikscheit are studying the growth of new tissues from stem cells to treat babies with severe intestinal deficiencies. "Stem cell therapies would really improve the current options," she says. "At the present time, these babies can either get a transplant or live on an intravenous diet, which really affects how they can interact with the world and grow. best way."

the Cell strain cell The article was written by Dr. Grikscheit and his colleagues as part of INTENS, a European consortium that promotes research on the treatment of children with intestinal insufficiency through the treatment of children with intestinal insufficiency. tissue engineering. Tissue engineering is the process of producing new tissue in the laboratory from stem cells. The publication describes the progress made by researchers as well as the challenges scientists face in offering stem cell therapy to patients.

Stem cells have the ability to grow into any cell type, making it an ideal starting material for organ repair. The paper discusses two main ways in which stem cells could potentially treat babies with these intestinal problems. Stem cells can be extracted from the patient's gut or "commercially" from a source of stem cells that can be transformed into intestinal tissue. The two pathways each offer distinct benefits to the patients and the type of treatment could depend on the condition. every child faces.

Research in this area seems promising for future therapy. Recent advances have allowed researchers to generate more intestinal tissue than ever before.

"We are not yet at the stage of administering this therapy to babies, but we are developing the roadmap," said Dr. Grikscheit. "We are getting closer."