Post-transcriptional regulation of intestinal homeostasis: stem cells to cancer

Symposium — Monday, April 24, 2024 — 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM — , Room W194B
GI and Liver Physiology Section — Chair: Kathryn (Kate) Hamilton — Co-Chair: Priya Chatterji

The intestinal epithelium maintains a dynamic homeostasis of proliferation, differentiation, senescence and apoptosis/anoikis along the crypt-villus axis. This homeostasis is disturbed during injury and disease, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and colorectal cancer. RNA binding proteins (RBPs), including MSI1 & 2, LIN28B, HuR, and IMP1, are emerging as critical players in intestinal epithelial homeostasis. This is significant because RBPs orchestrate their effects by post-transcriptional regulation of multiple mRNAs comprising critical growth-regulatory, inflammatory, and metabolic networks. This symposium will focus on a theme of RBPs in governing the various homeostatic processes that are critical for intestinal health and disease. Featured speakers will discuss the roles for specific mRNA binding proteins in intestinal stem cells, IBD, and colorectal cancer, as well as bioinformatic approaches to evaluating the post-transcriptome. RNA binding proteins regulate the fate of thousands of pivotal transcripts in the GI tract and beyond and are being explored as therapeutic targets in human disease. This session will therefore be of interest to a broad audience at Experimental Biology.

Speakers

• IMP1 in intestinal regeneration and autophagy
  Kathryn (Kate) Hamilton — Medicine, University of Pennsylvania


• HuR in colorectal cancer
  Dan Dixon — Cancer Biology, University of Kansas


• Musashi RNA binding proteins in intestinal stem cells
  Christopher Lengner — Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Pennsylvania


• Gene Yeo — Dept of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego