(Press-News.org) An international study led by Paolo Fiorina from Boston Children’s Hospital and in collaboration with researchers from University of Milan highlights the beneficial effect of inhibiting the death receptor TMEM219 to restore mucosal healing in inflammatory bowel diseases. Findings were published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Fiorina and colleagues demonstrated that the pharmacological blockade of TMEM219 signal through a recombinant protein based on the extracellular portion of the TMEM219 receptor is able to preserve self-renewal ability of intestinal stem cells in inflammatory bowel disease, protect intestinal stem cells from cell death induced by TMEM219 activation, and prevent colitis development in mouse models. These results were confirmed by the selective genetic inhibition of TMEM219 on intestinal stem cells LGR5 in vivo which allowed for the preservation of mucosal regeneration and healing in inflammatory bowel disease. This may thus represent a new mechanism of disease in which TMEM219 overactivation induces intestinal stem cell death and prevents mucosal renewal during inflammation.
"This new signaling is able to control the fate of intestinal stem cells and modulate their survival," says Paolo Fiorina, Associate Scientist at Boston Children's Hospital Nephrology Division and Lecturer at Harvard Medical School. "The study shows how this new mechanism of disease, which is overactive in the intestine during inflammation, is able to control mucosal self-renewal, particularly in inflammatory bowel disease. The dysregulation of this axis in patients with IBD and non-responding to therapy or with active disease suggests that TMEM219 signaling may prevent mucosal healing and therefore exerts a detrimental effect that aggravates the disease condition."
Previous studies conducted by the same group of researchers had highlighted the importance of the IGFBP3 / TMEM219 signaling in the context of diabetes, particularly on insulin-producing beta cells. This study goes further and identifies the TMEM219 signals as a novel mechanism of disease in colitis.
"The possibility of re-establishing self-renewal abilities of intestinal stem cells and promote mucosal healing during colitis is of extraordinary importance for patients with inflammatory bowel disease, especially in those not responding to current therapy in whom the disease is relapsing frequently, and surgery is at the end required,” says Fiorina.
END
TMEM219 signaling promotes intestinal cell stem cell death and exacerbates colitis
2025-05-15
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
MS heroes unite in Phoenix for CMSC 2025!
2025-05-15
Join the world’s leading MS experts, clinicians, researchers, and patient advocates as they assemble for the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) Annual Meeting, May 28-31 in Phoenix. AZ—North America’s ultimate destination for those dedicated to transforming MS care.
This year’s theme, “MS Heroes Unite,” honors the remarkable individuals driving progress across all fronts of MS—from cutting-edge science to compassionate, comprehensive care.
Featured Hero Lectures include:
June Halper Memorial Lecture; The Evolution ...
Stretched in a cross pattern: Our neighboring galaxy is pulled in two axes
2025-05-15
Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have discovered that Cepheid variable stars in our neighboring galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), are moving in opposing directions along two distinct axes. They found that stars closer to Earth move towards the northeast, while more distant stars move southwest. This newly discovered movement pattern exists alongside a northwest-southeast opposing movement that the scientists previously observed in massive stars.
These complex bidirectional movements along two different axes indicate that the SMC is being ...
Scientists find the ‘meow-tation’ that gives cats their orange fur
2025-05-15
Fukuoka, Japan—From Tama, Japan’s most famous stationmaster calico cat, to the lasagna-loving, ginger Garfield, cats with orange fur are both cultural icons and beloved pets. But their distinctive color comes with a genetic twist—most orange tabbies are male, while calicos and tortoiseshells are nearly always female. This pattern points to an unknown “orange gene” on the X chromosome, but identifying this gene has eluded scientists for decades.
Now, researchers from Kyushu University, Japan, have found the X-linked mutation behind orange fur in house cats. This deletion mutation, a type of mutation where ...
New stem cell model sheds light on human amniotic sac development
2025-05-15
Francis Crick Institute press release
Under strict embargo: 16:00hrs BST Thursday 15 May 2025
Peer reviewed
Experimental study
Cells
New stem cell model sheds light on human amniotic sac development
Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have developed a new stem cell model of the mature human amniotic sac, which replicates development of the tissues supporting the embryo from two to four weeks after fertilisation. This is the first model of amniotic sac development after two weeks.
As described in research published today in Cell, the new model can be used to study the origin ...
Shorter radiation therapy after prostate surgery safe, study finds
2025-05-15
For men who undergo a radical prostatectomy for the treatment of prostate cancer, post-surgery radiation therapy can play a vital role in reducing the risk of recurrence. Despite its benefits, many patients decline or defer radiation because it requires daily sessions for several weeks.
Now, a new study published in JAMA Oncology and led by UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center investigators suggests there may be a faster option. Researchers found that stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), a form of high-dose radiation delivered in just five sessions, is as safe as conventional treatment, with similar side effects and a similar impact on ...
Long-term survival in patients with low-risk cervical cancer after simple, modified, or radical hysterectomy
2025-05-15
About The Study: In this cohort study, long-term survival was similar following simple hysterectomy vs modified radical hysterectomy or radical hysterectomy, supporting the use of simple hysterectomy in select patients with low-risk early-stage cervical carcinoma.
Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Kathleen M. Darcy, PhD (darcyk@whirc.org) and Christopher M. Tarney (christopher.m.tarney.mil@health.mil).
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.10717)
Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, ...
Hearing aid service models, technology, and patient outcomes
2025-05-15
About The Study: The results of this randomized clinical trial suggest that while over-the-counter (OTC) and OTC+ (audiologists provided limited services for OTC hearing aids) service models were effective, they did not achieve the same outcomes as the audiologists fitted prescription hearing aids following best practices service model. As high-end and low-end hearing aids yielded similar outcomes, support for the higher cost of high-end hearing aids was not identified for individuals with mild ...
Researchers elucidate mechanism of auxin influx in plants
2025-05-15
Auxin is the first plant hormone—or "phytohormone"—ever identified, with its discovery dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With its discovery, scientists began to understand how small, self-produced organic molecules could influence physiological processes in plants such as growth, cell division, flowering, fruit ripening, and stress responses.
The auxin family of phytohormones promotes cell elongation and root development and is involved in directional growth, such as growing toward light. It works by moving directionally within plant tissues to establish concentration ...
Scientists track down mutation that makes orange cats orange
2025-05-15
Many an orange cat-affiliated human will vouch for their cat’s, let’s say, specialness. But now scientists have confirmed that there is, in fact, something unique about ginger-hued domestic felines. In a new study, Stanford Medicine researchers have discovered the long-posited but elusive genetic mutation that makes orange cats orange — and it appears to occur in no other mammal.
The finding adds to our understanding of how subtle genetic changes give rise to new traits, the researchers said.
Lots of mammals come in shades of orange — think tigers, ...
Allen Institute launches CellScapes initiative to transform our understanding of how human cells build tissues and organs
2025-05-15
Seattle, WASH.—May 15, 2025—The Allen Institute today announced the launch of CellScapes, a bold new research initiative aimed at revolutionizing how scientists understand and predict the behavior of human cells as they work together to build tissues and organs. The goal: to uncover the rules and principles of how cells cooperate to make decisions in the body and provide scientists with the tools to predict—and even design—how cells behave together in health and disease.
CellScapes introduces a groundbreaking approach that will combine cutting-edge imaging and powerful ...