Intestinal Cell News Volume 2.31 | Aug 26 2016

TOP STORY

Enhancing a Wnt-Telomere Feedback Loop Restores Intestinal Stem Cell Function in a Human Organotypic Model of Dyskeratosis Congenita

The authors generated isogenic dyskeratosis congenita patient and disease allele-corrected intestinal tissue using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9-mediated gene correction in induced pluripotent stem cells and directed differentiation. [Cell Stem Cell] Abstract | Graphical Abstract | Press Release

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

INTESTINAL CANCERS & DISEASES

TNIK Inhibition Abrogates Colorectal Cancer Stemness

Scientists report the first orally available small-molecule Traf2- and Nck-interacting kinase (TNIK) inhibitor, NCB-0846, having anti-Wnt activity. NCB-0846 suppresses Wnt-driven intestinal tumorigenesis in Apc^min/+ mice and the sphere- and tumor-forming activities of colorectal cancer cells. [Nat Commun] Full Article

Energy Metabolism in Intestinal Epithelial Cells during Maturation along the Crypt-Villus Axis

Investigators tested the hypothesis that the energy metabolism in intestinal epithelial cells would be changed during maturation along crypt-villus axis in neonates. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Space Radiation Exposure Persistently Increased Leptin and IGF1 in Serum and Activated Leptin-IGF1 Signaling Axis in Mouse Intestine

Scientists investigated long-term effects of ⁵⁶Fe radiation on adipokines and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) signaling axis in mouse intestine and colon. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Butyrate and Bioactive Proteolytic Form of Wnt-5a Regulate Colonic Epithelial Proliferation and Spatial Development

Proliferation and spatial development of colonic epithelial cells are highly regulated along the crypt vertical axis, which, when perturbed, can result in aberrant growth and carcinogenesis. Two key factors were identified that have important and counterbalancing roles regulating these processes: pericrypt myofibroblast-derived Wnt-5a and the microbial metabolite butyrate. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Rab27A Mediated by NF-κB Promotes the Stemness of Colon Cancer Cells via Up-Regulation of Cytokine Secretion

Investigators observed that overexpression of Rab27A increased sphere formation efficiency by increasing the proportion of CD44⁺ and PKH26^high cells in HT29 cell lines, and accelerating the growth of colosphere with a higher percentage of cells at S phase. [Oncotarget] Full Article

Role of Src Family Kinases in Regulation of Intestinal Epithelial Homeostasis

Scientists showed that ablation of Csk, a negative regulator of Src family kinases, specifically in intestinal epithelial cells resulted in the development of hyperplasia throughout the intestinal epithelium of mice. [Mol Cell Biol] Abstract

INTESTINAL STEM CELL & ORGANOID RESEARCH

The Role of Cell Location and Spatial Gradients in the Evolutionary Dynamics of Colon and Intestinal Crypts

Scientists investigated the effect of cell division pattern along the crypt on mutant production, assuming that the division rate of each cell depends on its location. [Biol Direct] Full Article

Murine Colonic Organoid Culture System and Downstream Assay Applications

Researchers describe detailed protocols for mouse colonic crypt isolation, organoid culture, and downstream applications. Specific culture strategies including growth factor enriched Matrigel and Wnt and R-spondin conditioned media serve as key factors for enhancing the growth and cost efficiency of colonic organoid cultures. [Methods Mol Biol] Abstract

Thyroid Hormone Regulation of Adult Intestinal Stem Cells: Implications on Intestinal Development and Homeostasis

The authors focus mainly on the formation of the adult intestine during Xenopus metamorphosis. They discuss the role of thyroid hormone signaling pathway in the process and potential molecular conservations between amphibians and mammals as well as the implications in organ homeostasis and human diseases. [Rev Endocr Metab Disord] Abstract

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the intestinal cell research field.

$27-Million Medicine by Design Investment Will Fast-Track Stem Cell Research

David McMillen and his team are hard at work designing a new custom-designed probiotic to help the 233,000 Canadians living with Crohn’s and colitis. The goal of the project, which is among 20 sharing $27 million in funding from university’s newly created Medicine by Design initiative, is to create a bacterium that can help trigger the renewal of the gut lining in people with these chronic bowel diseases. [University of Toronto] Press Release

CPRIT Awards $9.6 Million for UTSW Projects in Cancer Treatments, Screening, and Genetics Research

Six new cancer research projects involving treatment, prevention, outreach, and genetics recently received a total of $9.6 million in support from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). [The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center] Press Release

Lycera Announces Initiation of Phase II Clinical Trial of LYC-30937-EC in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis

Lycera Corp. announced the initiation of a Phase II clinical trial of the company’s lead clinical-stage candidate, LYC-30937-Enteric Coated, in patients with ulcerative colitis. [Lycera Corp.] Press Release

Obama’s Science Legacy: Uneven Progress on Scientific Integrity

Many researchers who watched Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009 were thrilled by his pledge to “restore science to its rightful place”. But scientists and legal scholars say that, in many ways, Obama has failed to live up to that lofty promise. [Nature News] Editorial

New Leader of NIH’s Research Watchdog Faces Staff Revolt

The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) in Rockville, Maryland, which guards against misconduct in biomedical research, usually attracts attention with its findings, not its internal workings. But two years ago, its director, David Wright, quit in a public huff, complaining that ORI was hobbled by a dysfunctional federal bureaucracy. Now, his successor is encountering her own rough waters. [Nature News] Editorial

Putin Appoints Church Historian as Science Minister

Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed a church historian as the country’s new science and education minister. The president announced that Olga Vasilyeva would succeed the current science minister, Dmitry Livanov, who will become presidential envoy on trade and economic relations with Ukraine, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. [Nature News] Editorial

NEW 2016 World Cancer Congress
October 31-November 3, 2016
Paris, France

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.

NEW Specialist – Digestion/Motility (Nestle Institute of Health Sciences)

NEW Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Cancer Epidemiology (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Technical Sales Representative (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

PhD Student – Intestinal Epithelial Cell Death and Barrier Function (University of East Anglia)

Postdoctoral Fellow or PhD Student – Gastrointestinal Cancers (Goethe University Frankfurt)

Senior Scientist – Human Microbiome (Nestle Institute of Health Sciences)

Postdoctoral Position – Mucosal Immunology (KU Leuven)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Colon Cancer (German Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Position – Cell Biology of Listeria transcytosis across the Intestinal Epithelium (Institut Pasteur Paris)

Assistant or Associate Member – Stem CellGene Therapy (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

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