In 2020, major advances to the understanding of gastrointestinal inflammatory and infectious disease have been made using ‘mini-gut’ organoids. Key findings include the discovery of somatic inflammatory gene mutations in ulcerative colitis epithelium, a unique mutational signature in colorectal cancer caused by genotoxic Escherichia coli, and infection of intestinal organoids by SARS-CoV-2.
Key advances
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Evolution of somatic inflammatory gene mutations targeting IL-17 signalling occurs during chronic tissue inflammation in patients with ulcerative colitis3.
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A distinct mutational signature caused by exposure to genotoxic colibactin-producing pks+ Escherichia coli is found in a subset of colorectal cancers5.
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Active SARS-CoV-2 infection and replication is possible in human and bat intestinal organoids7.
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Acknowledgements
The laboratory of V.S.W.L. is funded by the Francis Crick Institute, which receives its core funding from Cancer Research UK (FC001105), the UK Medical Research Council (FC001105) and the Wellcome Trust (FC001105).
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Li, V.S.W. Modelling intestinal inflammation and infection using ‘mini-gut’ organoids. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 18, 89–90 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-020-00391-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-020-00391-4
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