PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

ERR-gamma ‘trains’ stomach stem cells to become acid-producing cells

2024-05-10
(Press-News.org) Common conditions such as indigestion and heartburn as well as peptic ulcers, autoimmune gastritis and stomach and esophageal cancers have one thing in common – they involve disruptions of the normal activity of parietal cells (PCs) in the stomach, the only cells in the body that produce acid. Despite their medical importance, little is known about the molecular and genetic pathways that direct the generation and maturation of PCs from stem cells.

Looking to gain new insights into the generation of PCs, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions identified the genes that were preferentially expressed by emerging PCs to guide their development. They discovered a ‘training program’ driving PC development from stem cells and subsequent maturation into active acid-secreting cells. Published in Cell Stem Cell, the findings can lead to new strategies to regulate PC function in different disease settings.

“PCs secrete hydrochloric acid, which generates the strongly acidic environment in the stomach with beneficial effects, such as killing bacteria in contaminated food, facilitating food digestion and promoting absorption of minerals including phosphate, calcium and iron. But acid can also be dangerous, causing conditions from reflux to peptic ulcers to gastric bleeds that can be life-threatening,” said corresponding author Dr. Jason Mills, Herman Brown Endowed Professor of medicine – gastroenterology and co-director of the Texas Medical Center Digestive Disease Center (DDC) at Baylor.

Studying how these cells are generated can help scientists understand conditions in which the stomach stops making PCs, which results in an acid-free stomach that promotes gastric cancer. Or the opposite, conditions in which the stomach makes too many PCs and too much acid.

“Our first step was to generate enough PCs to study their development and maturation,” said co-first author of the study, Dr. Mahliyah Adkins-Threats, a graduate student in the Mills lab while she was working on this project. “PCs are long-lived (about two months), so we needed a system that would allow us to characterize the PC differentiation process in a shorter time.”

The researchers worked with a mouse model in which they eliminated existing PCs. “This triggered the production of new cells in which we were able to capture a first glimpse into the molecular and morphological steps involved when cells in the gastric epithelium commit to becoming PCs and then mature,” Adkins-Threats said.

Using single-cell RNA sequencing, a technique to identify the genes expressed by a cell, the team identified what genes the cells were turning on or off as they became more mature PCs.

The researchers discovered that of all the genes expressed by the cells, there was one, estrogen-related receptor gamma (ERRγ), a gene involved in regulating cell metabolism, that was expressed in both very young parietal cells and in fully functional parietal cells. ERRγ was sufficient for the cells to develop into PCs.

“Progenitor PC cells that were committed to expressing ERRγ, were destined to eventually become mature PCs,” said Mills, a member of and co-associate director for cancer education at the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Our findings indicate that ERRγ is responsible for regulating the differentiation and maturation of these acid secreting PCs.”

“Importantly, when we deleted the Esrrg gene in the gastric epithelium, whole gastric sections completely lacked any PC lineage cells, indicating that this gene is not only sufficient but also required for stem cells to commit to the PC lineage,” Adkins-Threats said. “We see ERRγ as the ‘trainer’ of these young stem cells; it’s the one gene that orchestrates the dynamics of the metabolic pathways that shape stem cells into fully mature PCs.”

Co-first author Sumimasa Arimura, Yang-Zhe Huang, Margarita Divenko, Sarah To, Heather Mao, Yongji Zeng, Jenie Y. Hwang, Joseph R. Burclaff and Shilpa Jain also contributed to this work. The authors are affiliated with one of the following institutions: Baylor College of Medicine, Washington University at St. Louis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, University of Texas Health at San Antonio and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

This study was supported by the following grants: National Science Foundation-Graduate Research Fellowship Program DGE-2139839/1745038, as well as multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health including: T32 DK077653, T32 GM007067, a pilot award from the NIDDK-funded DDC (P30 DK56338), NIDDK R01 DK094989 and DK110406 and NCI R01 CA239645.

###

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Long-term effect of home blood pressure self-monitoring plus medication self-titration for patients with hypertension

2024-05-10
About The Study: In this secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial, blood pressure (BP) self-monitoring plus self-titration of antihypertensive medication based on an individualized prearranged plan used in primary care reduced BP in the longer term with passive follow-up compared with usual care, without increasing health care use or adverse events. These results suggest that simple, inexpensive, and easy-to-implement self-management interventions have the potential to improve the long-term control of hypertension in routine clinical practice.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Gabriel Sanfelix-Gimeno, ...

Social determinants of health and delivery of rehabilitation to older adults during ICU hospitalization

2024-05-10
About The Study: The findings of this study highlight the need to consider social determinants of health in efforts to promote rehabilitation delivery during intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization and to investigate factors underlying inequities in this practice.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Snigdha Jain, M.D., M.H.S., email Snigdha.Jain@yale.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.10713) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, ...

AI knowledge gets your foot in the door – new study

2024-05-10
Employers are significantly more likely to offer job interviews and higher salaries to graduates with experience of artificial intelligence, according to new research published in the journal Oxford Economic Papers.   Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) conducted an experiment by submitting CVs for job vacancies from British 21-year-old applicants who held a 2:1 degree. Some of the applicants possessed AI capital – they had studied an 'AI in business' module – and this was mentioned in their cover letter for the application.   A ...

Rwanda initiative: public health boost with cervical cancer screening for 20,000

Rwanda initiative: public health boost with cervical cancer screening for 20,000
2024-05-10
On April 30, BGI Genomics and the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) launched a cervical cancer screening program in Ngoma District, Eastern Province, Rwanda. This program will provide 20,000 Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA tests for local women, aiming to enhance cervical cancer screening and prevention efforts and improve local precision medical testing capabilities. The launching event was attended by Wang Xuekun, Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda; Mr. Pudence Rubingisa, Governor of Eastern Province; Nathalie Niyonagira, the Mayor of Ngoma District, Rwanda; Dr. Albert Tuyishime, Head of Department, (HDPC) HIV/AIDS Diseases Prevention and Control, RBC; Dr. Theoneste ...

New tool to boost battle against childhood undernutrition

New tool to boost battle against childhood undernutrition
2024-05-10
A new tool developed at the University of Virginia School of Medicine will help doctors and scientists better understand and overcome childhood undernutrition that contributes to almost half of all deaths of children under 5. The research model created by UVA’s Carrie A. Cowardin, PhD, and colleagues provides a more sophisticated way to study the effects of undernutrition on the microbiome, the microbes that naturally live inside the gut, and, in turn, on growth and the immune system. Scientists routinely study the ...

Strong-field photoelectron holography in the subcycle limit

Strong-field photoelectron holography in the subcycle limit
2024-05-10
Scientists Unveil Fundamental Electron-holograms for Ultrafast imaging of Atoms and Molecules A team of scientists led by Professor Dong Eon Kim at the Pohang University of Science and Technology and Professor X. Lai at the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology achieved a breakthrough in ultrafast imaging by separately and clearly observing two distinct holographic patterns, spider-leg- and fishbone-like, for the first time. They utilized near-single-cycle laser pulses not only ...

HKUST researchers throw new light on carboxysomes in key discovery that could boost photosynthesis

HKUST researchers throw new light on carboxysomes in key discovery that could boost photosynthesis
2024-05-10
A research team led by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has discovered how carboxysomes, carbon-fixing structures found in some bacteria and algae, work. The breakthrough could help scientists redesign and repurpose the structures to enable plants to convert sunlight into more energy, paving the way for improved photosynthesis efficiency, potentially increasing the global food supply and mitigating global warming.  Carboxysomes are tiny compartments in certain bacteria and algae that encase particular enzymes in a shell made of proteins. They perform carbon fixation, which is ...

Learning the imperfections: a new approach to using neural networks for low-power digital pre-distortion (DPD) in mmWave systems

Learning the imperfections: a new approach to using neural networks for low-power digital pre-distortion (DPD) in mmWave systems
2024-05-10
In the world around us, a quiet but very important evolution has been taking place in engineering over the last decades. As technology evolves, it becomes increasingly clear that building devices that are physically as close as possible to being perfect is not always the right approach. That’s because it often leads to designs that are very expensive, complex to build, and power-hungry. Engineers, especially electronic engineers, have become very skilled in using highly imperfect devices in ways that allow ...

Worker rights are one of the least protected human rights, new research reveals

Worker rights are one of the least protected human rights, new research reveals
2024-05-10
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- Worker rights are among the least protected human rights in the world, according to new research from faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York. The findings are part of a new report published by the CIRIGHTS Data Project, the largest human rights dataset in the world. Since 1981, the project has ranked countries around the world on their respect for human rights, providing an annual “report card” on 25 internationally recognized human rights. The project ...

Unveiling crucial virulent milRNAs implicated in the initial infection of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense

Unveiling crucial virulent milRNAs implicated in the initial infection of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense
2024-05-10
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) is a typical soil-borne fungus that causes Fusarium wilt by infecting the roots and blocking the vascular tissues of host banana, and threatens the global banana production. Total four races have been reported in Foc, of which the tropical race 4 (TR4) is the most widespread race. In some severely affected banana plantations, the conventional ‘Cavendish’ variety had to be abandoned for other alternative crops due to the spread of TR4. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the pathogenesis of FWB and the development ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Toxic metals linked to impaired growth in infants in Guatemala

Being consistently physically active in adulthood linked to 30–40% lower risk of death

Nerve pain drug gabapentin linked to increased dementia, cognitive impairment risks

Children’s social care involvement common to nearly third of UK mums who died during perinatal period

‘Support, not judgement’: Study explores links between children’s social care involvement and maternal deaths

Ethnic minority and poorer children more likely to die in intensive care

Major progress in fertility preservation after treatment for cancer of the lymphatic system

Fewer complications after additional ultrasound in pregnant women who feel less fetal movement

Environmental impact of common pesticides seriously underestimated

The Milky Way could be teeming with more satellite galaxies than previously thought

New study reveals surprising reproductive secrets of a cricket-hunting parasitoid fly

Media Tip Sheet: Symposia at ESA2025

NSF CAREER Award will power UVA engineer’s research to improve drug purification

Tiny parasitoid flies show how early-life competition shapes adult success

New coating for glass promises energy-saving windows

Green spaces boost children’s cognitive skills and strengthen family well-being

Ancient trees dying faster than expected in Eastern Oregon

Study findings help hone precision of proven CVD risk tool

Most patients with advanced melanoma who received pre-surgical immunotherapy remain alive and disease free four years later

Introducing BioEmu: A generative AI Model that enables high-speed and accurate prediction of protein structural ensembles

Replacing mutated microglia with healthy microglia halts progression of genetic neurological disease in mice and humans

New research shows how tropical plants manage rival insect tenants by giving them separate ‘flats’

Condo-style living helps keep the peace inside these ant plants

Climate change action could dramatically limit rising UK heatwave deaths

Annual heat-related deaths projected to increase significantly due to climate and population change

Researchers discover new way cells protect themselves from damage

Rivers choose their path based on erosion — a discovery that could transform flood planning and restoration

New discovery reveals dopamine operates with surgical precision, not as a broad signal

New AI tool gives a helping hand to x ray diagnosis

New Leicester study reveals hidden heart risks in women with Type 2 Diabetes

[Press-News.org] ERR-gamma ‘trains’ stomach stem cells to become acid-producing cells