Loktionov Alexandre
Colonix Medical, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK.
Int J Cancer. 2007 Jun 1;120(11):2281-9. doi: 10.1002/ijc.22647.
Colonocyte exfoliation in the human colon constitutes a unique mechanism of cell population control that can undergo significant changes under different physiological and pathological conditions. Being closely related to the apoptosis and anoikis, cell exfoliation from colonic epithelium appears to be a relatively rare event in normal conditions, but its rate dramatically increases in neoplasia, when cell removal by apoptosis in situ does not function properly. Several studies show that significant numbers of exfoliated colonocytes are not lost in the faecal contents of the gut, but retained in the mucocellular layer overlying colonic mucosa. Recent observations allow hypothesizing that the mucocellular layer containing exfoliated colonocytes may gradually migrate distally, eventually leading to the accumulation of the cells exfoliated from malignant colorectal tumours on the surface of the rectal mucosa. Implications of exfoliated colonocyte analysis to colorectal cancer screening and early diagnosis are discussed.
人类结肠中的结肠上皮细胞脱落构成了一种独特的细胞群体控制机制，在不同的生理和病理条件下会发生显著变化。结肠上皮细胞的脱落与细胞凋亡和失巢凋亡密切相关，在正常情况下似乎是一种相对罕见的事件，但在肿瘤形成过程中，当原位凋亡清除细胞的功能不能正常发挥时，其发生率会显著增加。多项研究表明，大量脱落的结肠上皮细胞并非在肠道粪便中丢失，而是保留在覆盖结肠黏膜的黏液细胞层中。最近的观察结果使人们推测，含有脱落结肠上皮细胞的黏液细胞层可能会逐渐向远端迁移，最终导致从恶性结直肠癌肿瘤脱落的细胞在直肠黏膜表面积聚。本文讨论了脱落结肠上皮细胞分析对结直肠癌筛查和早期诊断的意义。
