Lay Summary

Proposal No. IBD-0239R2
Principal Investigator:  Emina Huang, M.D.
Applicant Organization:  University of Florida (Gainesville, U.S.A.)
Project Title:  Colitis derived tumorigenic stem cells and the inflammatory bowel
Period of Award:  February 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010

Colitis, or inflammation of the colon, is associated with an increased risk of colon cancer. The reasons why this risk is increased are not known. However, the risk is increased up to 5-fold compared to the risk of colon cancer in patients who do not have colitis. Recently, colon cancer stem cells have been discovered. This discovery reveals that a tiny fraction of the cells in a cancer are capable of regenerating the entire cancer. With this new discovery, it is possible that long-standing colitis has an expanded pool of stem cells. These cells are likely influenced by their neighboring cells. Among the neighboring cells are the fibroblasts. Fibroblasts make hormones and use these hormones to communicate with other cells. One of these hormones is interleukin 8. Interleukin 8 has many effects, and may influence cellular growth.

In this proposal, the influence of interleukin 8 on the growth of colon cancer-derived and colitis-derived putative stem cells will be explored. The relationship of the colon cancer and colitis cells with the fibroblasts will be measured in a Petri dish. The growth in a Petri dish will be compared to the growth of a tumor in a mouse. Then, a drug which blocks the receptors for interleukin 8 will be tested for its ability to prevent cell growth and tumor development.

This study is innovative since it uses novel stem cell technology. The proposal is relevant to the regenerative nature of colitis, and might ultimately lead to new approaches for the therapy of colitis and prevention of colon cancer.