Normal and glucocorticoid-induced development of the human small intestinal xenograft.

The aim of this study was to determine whether intestinal xenografts could recapitulate human in utero development by using disaccharidases as markers. Twenty-week-old fetal intestine was transplanted into immunocompromised mice and was followed. At 20-wk of gestation, the fetal human intestine was morphologically developed with high sucrase and trehalase but had low lactase activities. By 9-wk posttransplantation, jejunal xenografts were morphologically and functionally developed and were then monitored for