Human colon stem cells successfully grown for first time

Scientists in Spain have achieved a medical breakthrough by successfully identifying and growing human colon stem cells for the first time.

Researchers from the colorectal cancer lab at Barcelona's Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) have discovered the exact location of the stem cells within the colon that are responsible for regenerating the inner layer of the large intestine.

Having done so, they were able to create a method of isolating these cells and devising an optimal method of propagating them outside the human body.

This represents the culmination of around a decade's worth of research and will open up new avenues for regenerative medicine approaches and research into cancers.

IRB Barcelona researcher Peter Jung said: "We have an ideal platform that could help the scientific community to determine the molecular bases of gastrointestinal cell proliferation and differentiation."

This comes after a team from UT Southwestern Medical Center devised a means of helping stem cells overcome transplant rejection last month, using a special culture "cocktail".