GI highlights from the literature

Basic scienceTargeting the Wnt pathway in colorectal tumorigenesis Valenta T, Degirmenca B, Moor AE, et al. Wnt Ligands secreted by subepithelial mesenchymal cells are essential for the survival of intestinal stem cells and gut homeostasis. Cell Reports 2016;15:911–18. Dysregulation of the Wnt signalling pathway is crucial for the development of intestinal tumorigenesis and stem cells require a precise concentration of available Wnt to maintain the intestinal epithelium. The authors of this manuscript suggest that targeting inappropriate Wnt signalling may be a strategy to prevent or to treat colorectal cancer. To investigate the effects of globally inhibiting Wnt secretion and determining the effect of this on intestinal homoeostasis, the authors conditionally knocked out the Wntless (Wls) gene (WlsCKO). Wls facilitates Wnt secretion. Knocking out Wnt signalling genes such as Tcf4, has a profound effect on the stem cell population dramatically decreasing cell numbers. Conditionally knocking out β-catenin...
Source: Gut - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: JournalScan Source Type: research