{"id":231970,"date":"2026-02-23T22:42:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T04:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/genetic-defect-that-weakens-esophageal-lining-identified"},"modified":"2026-02-23T22:42:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T04:42:23","slug":"genetic-defect-that-weakens-esophageal-lining-identified","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/genetic-defect-that-weakens-esophageal-lining-identified","title":{"rendered":"Genetic defect that weakens esophageal lining identified!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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But the molecular factors responsible for the onset of Barrett\u2019s esophagus remain poorly understood.<\/p>\n

The findings, published in Nature Communications<\/i>, combined family studies, laboratory experiments and genetically engineered mouse models to identify and understand how genetic defects contribute to disease development.<\/p>\n

The team sequenced and analyzed genetic material of 684 people from 302 families where multiple members developed Barrett\u2019s esophagus or esophageal cancer. They discovered that a subset of affected family members carry inherited mutations in a gene called VSIG10L.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found that this gene acts like a quality control system for the esophageal lining,\u201d said the lead researcher. \u201cWhen it\u2019s defective, the cells do not mature properly and the protective barrier in the esophageal lining becomes weak, allowing stomach bile acid to cause tissue changes that enhances the risk of developing Barrett\u2019s esophagus.\u201d<\/p>\n

When researchers genetically engineered mice with human-equivalent VSIG10L mutations, they found that the esophageal lining became disrupted structurally and molecularly, according to the author. The study found that when the mice were exposed to bile acid, they developed Barrett\u2019s-like disease over time, effectively replicating the disease\u2019s progression in humans.<\/p>\n

These genetically engineered mice also represent the first animal model for Barrett\u2019s esophagus based directly on human genetic predisposition to the disease, the author said.<\/p>\n

With VSIG10L shown to be a key gene in maintaining esophageal health, family members can now be screened for genetic variants to identify those at a high-risk of developing Barrett\u2019s esophagus or esophageal cancer. ScienceMission sciencenewshighlights.<\/p>\n

Continue reading \u201cGenetic defect that weakens esophageal lining identified!\u201d | ><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

But the molecular factors responsible for the onset of Barrett\u2019s esophagus remain poorly understood. The findings, published in Nature Communications, combined family studies, laboratory experiments and genetically engineered mouse models to identify and understand how genetic defects contribute to disease development. The team sequenced and analyzed genetic material of 684 people from 302 families where [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":662,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1902,11,1506,412,1495],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-231970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bioengineering","category-biotech-medical","category-food","category-genetics","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/662"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231970\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}