New molecule promotes gut healing and suppresses tumor growth in colorectal cancer
· News-MedicalResearchers at Karolinska Institutet have found a molecule that can both help the intestines to heal after damage and suppress tumor growth in colorectal cancer. The discovery could lead to new treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and cancer. The results are published in the journal Nature.
In their search for new ways to treat IBD, the researchers have identified a handful of molecules with drug-candidate potential. They found that activation of a protein called the Liver X receptor (LXR) can promote regeneration and suppress tumor growth in colorectal cancer.
"The discovery of both these functions was astonishing," says last author Eduardo J. Villablanca, Docent at Karolinska Institutet. "We now need to study how LXR controls tumor formation more closely."
The researchers used a collection of advanced technologies to conduct their study, which included mapping the transcriptome of intestinal cells. The researchers also cultivated what are known as 3D organoids: small, three-dimensional cell structures that mimic the function and structure of the body's own organs, albeit in miniature format. They then used spatial transcriptomics to map the gene expression in the different tissues, a technique that has been developed at SciLifeLab by scientists from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.
Every year, over 7,000 people in Sweden develop bowel or rectal cancer, making it the third most common form of cancer in Sweden. Patients are often treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but this can cause irritation and swelling of the bowel mucosa with subsequent chronic intestinal inflammation.
"Thus, this new therapeutic molecule has the potential to treat not only IBD patients but also cancer patients to prevent chronic bowel disorders after radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy," says Eduardo J. Villablanca.
The study was conducted with grants from several bodies, including the Swedish Research Council, Formas (The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning), the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Novo Nordisk, the Swedish Cancer Society, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and the Åke Wiberg Foundation.
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