E. Shyam P. Reddy: Researchers have solved a cellular mystery that may lead to better therapies for colorectal and other types of cancer
E. Shyam P. Reddy, Professor and Director, Cancer Biology Program, Dept OB/GYN at Morehouse School of Medicine, shared on LinkedIn:
“Researchers from the University of Colorado Cancer Center have solved a cellular mystery that may lead to better therapies for colorectal and other types of cancer.
Peter Dempsey, professor of pediatrics-developmental biology in the CU School of Medicine, and Justin Brumbaugh, assistant professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology at CU Boulder, recently published a paper in the journal Nature Cell Biology showing the importance of the H3K36 methylation process in regulating plasticity and regeneration in intestinal cells.
‘The intestine has an enormous ability to regenerate itself after injury, and it does this through a model of dedifferentiation,’ Dempsey explains. ‘The cells dedifferentiate back into a type of regenerative stem cell after injury, and those stem cells eventually recover the intestine and turn back to normal cells.’
Finding the switch
Scientists have been looking for a long time for the “switch” that turns regular intestinal cells back into regenerative stem cells, Brumbaugh says. Using animal models, he, Dempsey, and the rest of their research team found that H3K36 methylation—a biochemical process that occurs within the H3 histone protein – is responsible for turning that plastic state on and off.
‘If you think about it, those cells that are normally in the intestine have to maintain their identity so they’re functional,’ Brumbaugh says. ‘You have to be sure that they don’t flip when they’re not supposed to, because you lose their specialized function – which is also a hallmark of cancer.
There has been other research on histone modifications, because epigenetics makes sense to study in this context. It makes sense that you have this form of regulation that will prevent reversion and lock in cell fate.’ ”
-
Challenging the Status Quo in Colorectal Cancer 2024
December 6-8, 2024
-
ESMO 2024 Congress
September 13-17, 2024
-
ASCO Annual Meeting
May 30 - June 4, 2024
-
Yvonne Award 2024
May 31, 2024
-
OncoThon 2024, Online
Feb. 15, 2024
-
Global Summit on War & Cancer 2023, Online
Dec. 14-16, 2023