MAP(K)ing the Path to Stem Cell Quiescence and the Elusive Enteroendocrine Cell

The existence and interaction of proliferating and quiescent intestinal stem cells have been debated since their discovery in the 1970s. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, using murine intestinal organoids, Basak et al. (2017) induce stem cell quiescence by selective inhibition of EGF/MAPK signaling and define culture conditions that direct differentiation to the enteroendocrine lineage. The existence and interaction of proliferating and quiescent intestinal stem cells have been debated since their discovery in the 1970s. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, using murine intestinal organoids, Basak et al. (2017) induce stem cell quiescence by selective inhibition of EGF/MAPK signaling and define culture conditions that direct differentiation to the enteroendocrine lineage.