Single gene encourages growth of intestinal stem cells, supporting 'niche' cells, and cancer
Study leader Linda M. S. Resar, M.D., professor of medicine, oncology and pathology at the Institute for Cellular Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has been studying genes in the high-mobility group (HMG) family for over two decades . Several years ago, while creating a genetically engineered mouse that expresses high levels of the mouse HMGA1 gene to investigate its role in leukemia, Resar and her colleagues made the chance finding that the intestines of these animals were much larger and heavier than those of "wild-type" animals (or control mice that were not genetically modified). The mouse intestines were also riddled with polyps, abnormal growths projecting from the intestinal lining that can be precursors of cancer. In fact, polyps in humans frequently progress to colon cancer, which is why they are removed during screening colonoscopies in people over 50 and others at risk for colon cancer. To better understand how HMGA1 affected the ...