A study conducted at the University of Copenhagen disproves traditional knowledge of stem cell development. The study reveals that the destiny of intestinal cells is not predetermined but is instead determined by the cells’ surroundings. The new knowledge may make it easier to manipulate stem cells for stem cell therapy. The results were published yesterday in Nature.

“We used to believe that a cell’s potential for becoming a stem cell was predetermined, but our new results show that all immature cells have the same probability for becoming stem cells in the fully developed organ,” says senior author Kim Jensen.

Throughout life, the organs in the body are maintained by stem cells, which are also able to repair minor tissue damage. A better understanding of the factors that determine whether or not an immature cell develops into a stem cell may, therefore, be useful in the development of stem cells for therapy and transplantation.

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“We have gained greater insight into the mechanisms through which cells in the immature intestines develop into stem cells,” Jensen says. “Hopefully we are able to use this knowledge to improve treatment of non-healing wounds, e.g., in the intestines. So far, though, all we can say for sure is that cells in the gastrointestinal tract have these characteristics. However, we do believe this is a general phenomenon in fetal organ development.”

While investigating what controls the destiny of intestinal stem cells, the team developed a method for monitoring the development of the individual intestinal cells. By introducing luminescent proteins into the cells, they could, using advanced microscopy, monitor the development of the individual cells.

After the initial tests, the cells that researchers previously believed to be fetal stem cells were only able to explain a fraction of the growth of the intestines during fetal development. Further analysis led to the hypothesis that all intestinal cells may have the same chance of becoming stem cells. Subsequent tests supported the hypothesis.

“The next step is to determine precisely which signals are necessary for immature cells to develop into the kind of stem cells we need,” Jensen says.