A mutant protein found in humans with colon cancer blocks a pathway that regulates proliferation and expansion of cells, increasing amounts of bacterial species associated with the development of colon cancer.
A mutant protein found in humans with colon cancer blocks a pathway that regulates proliferation and expansion of cells, increasing amounts of bacterial species associated with the development of colon cancer. These findings, showcasing the connection between bacteria in the microbiome and colon cancer, were published by a team of researchers from the George Washington University (GW) in the journal Gastroenterology.
“Colon cancer is increasing in young people. Current guidelines recommend screening those over age 50 for colon cancer, but today we are seeing that 15% of those with colon cancer are under the age of 50,” said Lopa Mishra, MD, director of the Center for Translational Medicine at the GW Cancer Center and professor of surgery at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. “We hypothesized that diet and its effects on the microbiome may be big players, which is where we focused our study.”
Mishra and the research team looked at the interactions among proteins of the carcinoembryonic antigen related cell adhesion molecular (CAECAM) family, which interact with microbes, leading to changes in the growth factor beta (TGFB) signaling pathway. The team collected data on DNA sequences, mRNA expression levels, and patient survival times from 456 colorectal adenocarcinoma cases, and a separate set of 594 samples of colorectal adenocarcinomas, in The Cancer Genome Atlas. The team then used the GW Genomics Core to perform shotgun metagenomic sequencing analysis of feces from mice with defects in TGFB signaling to identify changes in the microbiome before colon tumors developed.
Read more at George Washington University
