--- title: "Scientists Grew Tiny, Partially Functional Human Intestines Inside Mice" description: "Using stem cells to grow minitiarized intestinal tissue called organoids, the researchers recreated a human immune response inside mice." date: "2023-02-09" modified: "2023-02-09" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/scientists-grew-tiny-partially-functional-human-intestines-inside-mice" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "animal transplants" - "intestines" - "organoids" --- # Scientists Grew Tiny, Partially Functional Human Intestines Inside Mice ![Using stem cells to grow minitiarized intestinal tissue called organoids, the researchers recreated a human immune response inside mice.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* To better understand our organs and perform tests on a more human-like proxy, researchers are [increasingly]() [turning]() to [organoids](): miniaturized tissue cultures, usually in the form of organs, that are made from stem cells. And a recent [study](), published in the journal *Nature Biotechnology*, may have just pushed the envelope by growing organoid human intestines with a working immune response inside mice. "The largest part of the immune system in humans is the GI tract, and our biggest exposure to the world is what we put in our mouth," Michael Helmrath, a pediatric surgeon specializing in intestinal diseases at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, [told *Wired* in an interview](). Helmrath and his team had already managed to grow an intestinal organoid in a petri dish as part of a 2010 [study](), but this time around, they need one to "become more like human tissue," according to Helmrath. They started by growing the organoid with human-derived stem cells, which they induced into becoming intestinal cells. These, in turn, eventually formed into tiny spheres of tissue. Mice genetically engineered not to reject foreign cells served as the organoid recipients. The researchers first supplied the mice with human blood containing stem cells**,** then transplanted the organoid tissues near the kidneys, though without connecting them to the mice's digestive tracts. Four months later, the organoids were pea-sized and with a similar population of human immune cells to those found in an actual human gut, Helmrath said. But the intestines didn't just look the part, they also acted the part — at least when it comes to protecting the body against bacteria. When the researchers exposed the organoids to *e. coli*, the imitation intestines successfully produced immune cells indicating that it detected the presence of foreign bacteria, according to Helmrath. That's a good sign for organoid research going forward. Helmrath and his team's findings show that the organoids, even when transplanted in a different animal's bodies, have a similar enough immune cell composition to more or less simulate an actual human gut's immune response. That will, no doubt, prove incredibly useful in testing all sorts of substances in the body, ranging from bacteria like *e. coli* to man-made drugs. "It's incredibly important that when we are trying to create these platforms for testing drug efficacy and drug side effects in human tissue models that we actually make sure that we are as close to, and as complete as, the tissue in which the drug will work eventually in our human body," Pradipta Ghosh, a gastroenterologist at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine who was not involved in the study, told *Wired.* "So, adding the immune system is an important part of that." Helmrath and his team, on the other hand, are more optimistic about using their organoids to treat those with malaffected digestive systems caused by genetic disorders, cancer, or disease — or even using them to grow new organ tissue inside a person to heal damaged ones. **More on organoids:** *[Blobs of Human Brain Implanted in Rat Brains Replace Damaged Vision Functionality]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()