Researchers in Michael Sigal's lab at the Max Delbruck Center and Charite - Universitatsmedizin Berlin have discovered the significance of the p53 gene in ulcerative colitis. The work, published in Science Advances, proposes a potential new therapeutic target for preventing illness progression to cancer . A team of researchers led by Kimberly Hartl, a graduate student at the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology of the Max Delbruck Center (MDC-BIMSB) and Charite - Universitatsmedizin, have shed new light on the role of the p53 tumor suppressor gene in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC) - an inflammatory bowel disease that afflicts an estimated five million people worldwide and that is linked to an increased risk of colon cancer.
The research points to a new way to stop the disease from progressing. The study was published in the journal Science Advances. ALSO READ: Major cause of inflammatory bowel disease discovered: Research How is ulcerative colitis linked to cancer risk? "In patients with ulcerative colitis who are at high risk for developing cancer, we could potentially target aberrant cells and get rid of them early, before any cancer occurs," says Professor Michael Sigal, Group Leader of the Gastrointestinal Barrier, Regeneration Carcinogenesis lab at MDC-BIMSB, Head of Luminal Gastroenterology at Charite, and a senior author of the paper.
A key role for p53: Ulcerative colitis affects the large intestine, specifically areas called "crypts," tube-like g.