Background
The most common form of cancer in the intestine is colorectal cancer (CRC) and it is the second most common type of cancer in both men and women in Sweden.
Dividing cells of the mammalian intestine are restricted to finger-like invaginations of the epithelium called the crypts of Lieberkühn. The progeny of the stem cells migrates upward, from the cryps towards finger-like outgrows into the lumen called villi. In the villi tips the division stagnates and the differentiation is completed. Cell to cell signalling in the epithelium is mainly carried out by Wnt, Notch and ephyrin pathways.
Both Notch and the Wnt pathways are key regulators in maintaining the homeostasis in the intestine. Defects on the key tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli, APC a gene in the Wnt pathway is most frequently mutated in colorectal cancer.
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Director of undergraduate studies Biology
Last updated:
05/12/09