At any given time, intestinal crypts of mice comprise about 15 stem cells and 10 Paneth cells. After cell division, which occurs about once a day, the daughter cells remain stem cells only if they maintain contact with a Paneth cell. This constant competition for Paneth-cell contact raises the possibility that crypts might become monoclonal over time; that is, the crypt cells at one point in time might derive from only 1 of the 15 stem cells that existed at some earlier time. To test this possibility, you use the so-called confetti marker that upon activation expresses any one of three fluorescent proteins in the stem cells of the crypt. You then examine crypts at various times to determine whether they contain cells with multiple colors or only one color (Figure Q22–1). Do the crypts become monoclonal over time or not? How can you tell?

Figure Q22-1

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microvilli crypts 4 days 4 weeks 30 weeks xz plane