Graded BMP signaling within intestinal crypt architecture directs self-organization of the Wnt-secreting stem cell niche

Newswise — Shivdasani et al. assign niche functions to specific mesenchymal cell types near stem cells at the base of intestinal crypts. They identify PDGFRAlo fibroblasts as a substantial source of requisite Wnt ligands and show that BMP signaling from crypt tops organizes functional heterogeneity of mesenchyme along the crypt vertical axis.