Scientists discover new information about how stem cells in the human intestine behave -
For the first time, scientists have discovered new information on how stem cells in the human colon behave, reveals vital clues about the early stages in the development of intestinal cancer and how we can begin to prevent it.
The study, led by the Queen in May University of London (QMUL) and published today in the journal Cell Reports have discovered how stem cells exist in the human gut and how they behave and evolve over time. It was revealed that, in a healthy intestine, the stem cells are in constant competition with each other for their survival and only a certain number of stem cells may exist within a zone at a time (called "niche rod cells'). However, when investigating the stem cells in the early tumors, the researchers saw the number of stem cells increased in each region, as well as increased competition for survival, suggesting a link between activity of cells strains and the development of bowel cancer.
The study involved the study of stem cells directly into the human body using a "toolkit" developed especially. The toolkit works by measuring the random mutations that arise naturally in aging of stem cells. Saved random mutations how stem cells had acted in a similar way to how the rings on a tree trunk to record how a tree has grown over time. The techniques used were unique in that the scientists were able to study human stem cells in their natural environment, giving a much more accurate picture of their behavior.
Until this research, stem cell biology of the human gut has remained largely a mystery. In fact, most research on stem cells is conducted in mice, and it was uncertain how the mice research results could be applied to humans. However, scientists have indeed found the stem cell biology human entrails have significant similarities to the bowels mouse. This means that researchers can continue to investigate the activity of stem cells in mice with knowledge, it is representative of man -. We hope to accelerate research into bowel cancer
Importantly, these new research methods can now be applied to investigate the stem cells in other parts of the body such as the skin, prostate, lung and breast in order to accelerate cancer research in these areas too.
Dr. Trevor Graham, Professor of Tumor Biology and study author at the Queen Mary University of London, said: "unearth how stem cells behave in the human gut is a great step forward for research stem cell So far, the stem cell research was primarily conducted in mice or involved taking stem cells from their natural environment, which distorts their habit. behavior. We now want to use the methods developed in this study to understand how stem cells behave within bowel cancer, so we can improve our understanding of how colon cancer develops. This should shed more light on how we can prevent bowel cancer - the fourth most common cancer in the UK. We are positive this research provides important foundations for future work in the prevention of colon cancer and preventive work in other cancers "
Dr. Marnix Jansen, pathologist and author of the study Queen Mary, University of London, said: ". This study was made possible by the involvement of patients is diagnosed with bowel cancer or born with a tendency to develop bowel cancer. Only by investigating the tissues taken directly from patients we could study how bowel cancers develop. Our work highlights the importance of patient involvement in scientific research if we want to fight against bowel cancer and help the greatest number of people. "
EmoticonEmoticon