BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

Tales from the crypt

January 29, 2009 8:00 AM UTC

Separate studies by Dutch and U.S. researchers have identified a subset of cells that drive tumor growth in colon cancer.1,2These cancer stem cells could potentially be targeted to wipe out colorectal tumors at the source, which is an area of the intestinal epithelium called the intestinal crypt. The discoveries in one of the papers have been licensed by Agamyxis BV, a new biotech cofounded by the study's author.

The crypts are pocket-like structures hidden within the folds of the intestinal epithelium. They produce a steady stream of epithelial cells that push their way to the intestinal surface. The two papers, both published in Nature, build on earlier efforts to identify molecular markers of the endlessly dividing stem cells at the base of the crypts...