Scientists build 'mini stomachs' in lab

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Scientists have used stem cells to build tiny clusters of human gastric tissue that could spur research into cancer, ulcers and diabetes.
Scientists using stem cells said on Wednesday they had built the world's first "mini-stomachs" ? tiny clusters of human gastric tissue that could spur research into cancer, ulcers and diabetes.

The organoids also mark an important step forward in how to tease stem cells into becoming 3-D structure, the scientists said.

And, as "mini-stomachs", they also provide a testbed for studying diseases such as cancer, diabetes and obesity, the team said in a press release.

"Up until now, there's been no good way to study stomach diseases in humans," said Jim Wells, a researcher in developmental biology at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre in Ohio.

"The human stomach is very different than the stomach of other animals. The different cells and their structure and arrangement in our stomach tissues in a dish were virtually identical to that that we would find in the stomach normally."

In a first experiment, the researchers have used the organoids to see how the notorious ulcer-causing germ Helicobacter pylori infects cells lining the stomach, the Cincinnati facility said.