Epithelial cell fate transitions: an oesophageal tale
2022
Maria Pilar Alcolea
Summary of the science
Why do our own cells turn into immortal cancer cells? Epithelial cells are a type of cells that lines the surfaces of the body and are exposed to various external factors. This epithelial barrier needs to adapt for example when there is a wound. When the skin is cut, the wound healing process is able to make a lot of cells very quickly to aid healing. Cancer cells are able to copy this process and it causes them to proliferate at a high rate producing tumours. The process of wound healing is controlled whereas the process of producing a tumour is not. This research is important because it can help understand why various cancers occur and whether there is a more efficient method to stop them. This is vital for the future as 1 in 2 people will develop some type of cancer in their lifetime and oesophageal cancer remains one of the least explored types.
About the research
Dr Maria Alcolea studies epithelial stem and progenitor cells, with a special focus on how normal homeostasis of squamous epithelial cells changes during stressful conditions, like following an injury or cancer mutations. She investigates both the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underly these changes and utilises the mouse oesophagus, as it provides a great blueprint for in vivo epithelial cell lineage tracing.
About the illustration
We wanted to emphasise the process that occurs in wound healing or tumour development. To show this transformation, we decided to depict the normal epithelial cells on the left changing formation and proliferating towards the right. To highlight the new cells, we coloured them in purple.