Enteroid culture and its impact on stem cell and cancer research

The technique of enteroid cell culture has had an enormous effect on the study of intestinal stem cells as well as colorectal cancer, and will continue to aid scientists in making advances in these fields in the future. In this thesis, the intestinal epithelium is introduced and the cell types within it are explained, stating why it is so crucial to understand its properties. The brief history of enteroid culture is gone over, beginning with its inception in 2009 and the expansion and initial discoveries made with the technique up until and including 2012. Next, the main section of the thesis includes detailed protocols on how to extract intestinal crypts and grow enteroid cultures, as well as perform some modifying techniques such as lentiviral infection and the creation of enterospheres. My research and contribution to Dr. Verzi’s lab was in the perfecting of these protocols. Finally, the thesis concludes with the most recent discoveries and advances made using the enteroid culture technique, and its potential for future innovation and discovery.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Andrew Hoffma