NEUTROPHILS ALTER DSB REPAIR PATHWAY IN INFLAMED MUCOSA TO PROMOTE COLON CARCINOGENESIS

Abstract

Due to exacerbated inflammation and recurring tissue injury patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are at higher risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC). Although, PMN infiltration of the intestinal mucosa is a hallmark of IBD, and is associated with tissue injury, the contribution of PMNs to CRC and more so to IBD associated CRC is not known. We recently showed that PMNs can acutely exacerbate tissue injury and promote genomic instability by promoting miR-23a and miR-155-dependent accumulation of double-strand breaks (DSBs) and inhibition of DSB-repair by homologous recombination (HR).