Methods of Controlled Self-Renewal and Differentiation of Intestinal Stem Cells

Described are cell culture solutions and systems for epithelial stem cell and organoid cultures, formation of epithelial constructs and uses of the same in transplantation. A single layer of epithelial cells that actively self-renews and is organized into crypts and villi clothes the intestine. It has been recently shown that the renewal of intestinal epithelium is driven by Lgr5+ intestinal stem cells (ISC) that reside at the base of these crypts (Barker et al., 2007). Lgr5+ stem cells can be isolated and cultured in vitro to form organoids containing crypt-vcllus structures that recapitulates the native intestinal epithelium (Sato et al., 2009).