Viennese researchers found a protein that regulates intestinal regeneration

Mechanical wear and tear, digestive enzymes and changing acid values ​​(pH values) put such strain on the intestinal walls that they constantly have to grow back. The protein “Daam1” is responsible for the formation of growth factor-secreting gland cells (Paneth cells) from stem cells in the intestine and at the same time slows down excessive growth signals that cause tumors, report Viennese researchers. The study was published in the journal “Science Advances.”

When Daam1 is active, the stem cells differentiate into Paneth cells in indentations in the intestinal mucous wall (intestinal crypts), explain the researchers led by Gabriele Colozza and Bon Kyoung Koo from the Institute for Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). Paneth cells in turn produce growth factors such as “Wnt” that stimulate cell division.

“However, an overactive Wnt signaling pathway can lead to excessive cell division and the formation of tumors,” they wrote in a release. That is why he is kept in check by opponents. One of these is “Rnf43,” which was identified in a previous study by Bon Kyoung Koo. However, Rnf43 cannot do anything against the Wnt signaling pathway on its own; it needs the help of Daam1 to do this. The two cause a Wnt signaling substance (Frizzled) to be broken down, which dampens signal transmission, according to the researchers.

In another study, an international team including Bon Kyoung Koo found that a mix of four proteins (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, c-Myc) can be used to bring intestinal cells into an “injury repair mode”. Intestinal cells treated in this way “actively supported tissue regeneration after damage,” the researchers wrote in a specialist article that also appeared in “Science Advances.”

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