Expanding the Tissue Toolbox: Deriving Colon Tissue from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Abstract

Organoid technology holds great potential for disease modeling and regenerative medicine. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Múnera et al. (2017) establish the generation of pluripotent stem cell-derived colon organoids that upon transplantation in mice, resembling human colon to a large extent, opening up avenues to study disease pathogenesis in human colon tissue. Organoid technology holds great potential for disease modeling and regenerative medicine. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Múnera et al. (2017) establish the generation of pluripotent stem cell-derived colon organoids that upon transplantation in mice, strikingly resemble human colon, opening up avenues to study disease pathogenesis in human colon tissue.