Owen Sansom and colleagues show that conditional deletion of Pten specifically from the small intestinal epithelium in mice does not disrupt normal tissue architecture, but in the context of Apc deficiency leads to rapid development of adenocarcinoma. These findings suggest that Pten does not serve a rate-limiting, intrinsic role in regulating normal intestinal stem cell physiology.
- Victoria Marsh
- Douglas J Winton
- Alan R Clarke