News Finding: The researchers thus provide a possible explanation for why these drugs are not effective in colorectal cancer.
Paper Finding: d MEK inhibition leads to reduction of AXIN1 levels in colorectal cancer organoids.
News Context: The researchers thus provide a possible explanation for why these drugs are not effective in colorectal cancer. Depending on the Wnt activity, the cancer cells can switch back and forth between the stem cell state and a differentiated state. At the same time, the gene activity of the cancer cells changed to a stem cell-typical pattern.
Paper Context: c Expression analysis with microarray of colon cancer organoids treated with trametinib shows increased expression of many of Wnt and stemness associated genes, and a reduction of RAS target genes and differentiation markers (b). d MEK inhibition leads to reduction of AXIN1 levels in colorectal cancer organoids. A representative Western Blot of three independent replicates is shown.