Stomach Upset

Figuring out how vital organs like the stomach first develop is a struggle – it’s difficult to watch cells knitting together in the womb. One alternative is this stomach 'organoid', a living model grown from human stem cells. Early in life, our stomachs developed the fundus – an area which produces acids and enzymes required for digestion. Proteins called Wnt and β-catenin usually switch on or off inside early stomach cells to guide development – disrupting them in this fundus organoid reveals catastrophic effects (pictured). Shown with its cells artificially coloured, the organoid has very few green-coloured acid-producing cells, and the pink-red cells are developing more like tissue characteristic of a different part of the stomach. Using organoids to mimic different stomach regions, together with intestinal organoids, may allow scientists to recreate the early digestive system, and look for clues about a range of developmental disorders.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image courtesy of Professor James M. Wells, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
• Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
• Image copyright held by original authors
• Research published in Nature, January 2017