Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation

In the journal Nature, Ken Cadwell, PhD (Lallage Feazel Wall Fellow '08-'11) and colleagues at Washington University, St. Louis, reported findings correlating the cellular process of autophagy to Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disorder.  They studied a Crohn’s-associated gene called ATG16L1 and found that it functions in Paneth cells, immune cells in the lining of the small intestine.  These cells make proteins and antimicrobial peptides that they package as granules and secrete into the intestine to protect the body against infection.  This secretion is defective in the Paneth cells of Crohn’s disease patients that lack ATG16L1.  This new understanding of the causes underlying Crohn’s disease may also be important for prevention of colorectal cancer, as the two diseases can be linked.

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