ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the normal proliferation kinetics of colonic epithelial cells, and the modifications that develop during the evolution of disease states. In the familial polyposis model of human cancer development, as epithelial cells develop an increased capacity to proliferate and to accumulate in the mucosa, areas of microscopic hyperplasia and adenomatous foci develop. As these adenomatous foci become recognizable lesions, they are seen to consist of an overgrowth of hyperplastic, mucus-secreting intestinal epithelium together with a stroma of loose connective tissue and blood vessels. The technique of transplantation can supplement other in vitro methods for the maintenance of adenomatous tissue derived from human colonic mucosa, in order to facilitate studies of growth characteristics and transformation of the cells. In addition to the growth of colonic carcinoma cells, tissue culture has been successfully applied to the in vitro study of colonic adenomas.
