Cells in fruit fly gut can prompt tumor growth

Tumor growth can start from stem cells in the gut, say School of Medicine researchers studying fruit flies.

They found that tumors can grow from adult stem cells that have lost a specific tumor-suppressor gene. The gene, Apc, has previously been implicated in human gastrointestinal cancers, including colon cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in the Western world.

"A long-standing question in cancer biology is 'Do tumors arise from specific cell types?'" said lead author Craig A. Micchelli, Ph.D., assistant professor of developmental biology. "We asked what happens when the Apc gene is specifically disabled in fruit fly intestinal stem cells, and we observed that the mutant cells proliferate rapidly to create tumors. Our studies demonstrate that adult stem cells in the intestinal tract of fruit flies can function as a cell of origin for tumorigenesis."

The study was published in the journal Development.
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