Lijun Xia, MD, PhD, a scientist and researcher at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in Oklahoma City, discovered that certain sugars produced by the body play an important role in the development of colitis and, ultimately, colon cancer. This new finding could potentially lead to therapies for ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and colon cancer.
Dr. Xia has spent two decades studying O-glycans, a form of sugar that the body produces and that comprises nearly 80 percent of a thick mucous layer inside the colon and gastrointestinal tract. For the current research project, Dr. Xia and colleagues genetically modified mice so that their bodies wouldn't produce these sugars.
Here are five points:
1. The researchers found the mucous layer vanished and the mice developed ulcerative colitis.
2. In addition to ulcerative colitis, the mice also developed a form of colon cancer as they aged.
3. Dr. Xia stated these findings show the mucous made up of O-glycan sugars is essential for preventing the development of ulcerative colitis and colon cancer.
4. Dr. Xia's lab is now working on the development of therapies to repair the injured mucous layer and repair the sugars to treat ulcerative colitis and prevent tumor development.
5. The new findings were published in separate papers in the scientific journals Gastroenterology and Mucosal Immunology.