Altering protein may fight colon cancer progression

Washington: Modifying shape of a protein that controls inflammation may reduce progression of inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer, according to a new study that may pave the way for therapies against the conditions. The altered protein - IRAK-M - causes the immune system to become supercharged, clearing out the bacteria before they can do any damage.

"When we tested mice with the altered IRAK-M protein, they had less inflammation overall and remarkably less cancer," said Coy Allen, assistant professor at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine in the US. The next step, he said, will be to evaluate these findings in human patients.

The researchers are also evaluating their findings in laboratory-assembled "mini-guts" - live tissue models that Allen and his team assembled by growing intestinal stem cells on petri dishes to form highly complex small intestinal and colon tissue. "Ultimately, if we can design therapeutics to target IRAK-M, we think it could be a viable strategy for preventing inflammatory bowel disease and cancer," said Allen. The study was published in the journal eBioMedicine.