# Niche support of human intestinal stem cells

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2022 · $70,875

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Intestine development is a highly complex process that involves reciprocal signaling between the intestinal
epithelium and the underlying mesenchyme in order to drive the morphogenetic process giving rise to the
stereotypical crypt-villus architecture of the fully functional, adult intestine. However, almost nothing is known
about the cellular constituents present in the human intestine that comprise the intestinal stem cell (ISC) niche,
and even less is understood about how these cells may functionally regulate human ISCs. Improving this gap
in knowledge is critical for our understanding of the normal human intestine, and will also lay the groundwork
for understanding the molecular and cellular basis of disease and for developing novel therapies aimed at
stimulating repair and regeneration. The goal of this proposal is to add fundamental new knowledge of human
intestinal biology by interrogating the ISC niche across the human lifespan, from development through
adulthood, and to understand how niche cells function to support human ISCs, intestinal maturation and
intestinal function.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10694314
- **Project number:** 3U01DK103141-09S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Jason Spence
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $70,875
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2014-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10694314

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10694314, Niche support of human intestinal stem cells (3U01DK103141-09S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10694314. Licensed CC0.

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