Ancient gene a possible key to curing bowel disease

Associate Professor Helen Abud at Monash University. Photo: Chris Hopkins

A gene that evolved with the first multicellular animals 600 million years ago has been found to control the survival of stem cells in the human bowel. This opens a pathway to regenerating the lining of the bowel in people with bowel disease, and in those who are undergoing chemotherapy.

The gene may also predict the rate of spread of colorectal cancer.

These are some of the findings by a group of Melbourne researchers published this month in the prestigious European Molecular Biology Organisation journal.

Lead authors Associate Professor Helen Abud, from the Monash School of Biomedical Sciences, and Associate Professor Gary Hime, a University of Melbourne stem cell geneticist, made their discovery by studying the specialised tissue which forms the inner lining of the digestive tract that absorbs nutrients, and where bowel cancer starts.

Advertisement

The tissue was examined using a unique culture system that can be used to study the role of the protein in healthy and cancerous tissue as well as in chemotherapy and radiation-resistant tumours.

Professor Abud says the lining of the bowel is a particularly volatile part of the body, dying off and being renewed every week.

"It's a protection mechanism, because the bowel is such a harsh environment," Professor Abud said. "It relies on a store of stem cells making new cells as the old cells are being lost."

When this balance is disrupted, mutations can arise which lead to a rapid production of cancer cells. Or, conversely, an infection can cause the stem cells to die off and the lining isn't replaced, causing painful inflammation and ulcers.

The rest is here:
Ancient gene a possible key to curing bowel disease