Elucidation of de novo colon cancer carcinogenesis focusing on microbiome and application to therapeutics

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K20955
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0905:Surgery of the organs maintaining homeostasis and related fields
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: TAMURA Koji 九州大学, 大学病院, 助教 (90909582)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-08-30 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 大腸癌 / de novo癌 / 腸内細菌叢 / 家族性大腸線種症

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The number of de novo colon cancer cases was actually small, so we slightly changed the direction, and analyzed colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues including those from patients with FAP and IBD. The scRNA-seq was performed on CRC samples from multiple sites in the same patient. Cell populations were identified by clustering, and cell types were identified using known marker genes. In the tumor microenvironment, only fibroblast cells were re-clustered, and 4 clusters were identified, indicating some specific trends between cancerous and normal areas. Gene expression analysis of immune-related cell groups and their respective populations is also undergoing. Microbiomes of fecal samples are being submitted for analysis.

Free Research Field

医歯薬学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

de novo癌、FAP、colitic cancerを含む大腸癌の発癌メカニズムを腸内細菌叢及び腫瘍微小環境の不均一性という側面から検討することは、大腸癌治療開発において刷新的であり社会的な要請の強い大腸癌の治療開発に飛躍的な進歩をもたらすと期待される。また、本成果は、scRNAseq解析やmicrobiome解析などマスデータを含むもので、そのインパクトは大きく、癌研究だけでなく、生物学や細菌学など学術的にも広範な波及効果が期待される。