Stem cells are generally influenced by a microenvironmental niche, typically comprised of epithelial and mesenchymal cells and extracellular substrates. Many attempts have been made to produce culture systems that mimic normal intestinal epithelial growth and differentiation.
Patients with celiac disease have a pathological reaction to gluten and have either HLA-DQ2+ (90%) or HLA-DQ8+, but expression of these MHC class II haplotypes is not sufficient and other factors are necessary for the development of celiac sprue.
Stanford researchers have developed a patient classification method (healthy, idiopathic, diabetic, etc.) based on a quantitative assessment score derived from autonomic and gastric electrocardiogram (ECG) and electrogastrogram (EGG) data.