Scientific Overview

Epistem's scientific foundation is based on co-founder Professor Chris Potten's groundbreaking stem cell research over three decades at the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, UK.  Professor Potten identified and characterised the location and behaviour of stem cells in the intestine, skin, hair follicle and breast.

The epithelium provides a barrier between the body and its environment.  Due to its dynamic epithelial change and rapid cell proliferative state, the lining of the small intestine provides a unique environment in which to understand epithelial changes, cell regulation and mechanisms of action.  The lining of the intestine consists of a single layer of cells that secretes and absorbs substances during digestion.  It undergoes continuous renewal; the finger-like villi in the small intestine in humans completely regenerates each week.

Stem cells are the source of life long tissue renewal (for an introduction to stem cells visit http://www.eurostemcell.org/films#story).  These cells have the unique capability to either make more of themselves or to differentiate and give rise to all types of cells in a tissue.  Small changes in stem cell activity result in large changes in the output of  functional cells.  The regulators that control epithelial stem cells in the body remain unknown.  Epistem is in the unique position to discover these regulators and develop new therapeutics that modulate the body's own stem cells to protect and repair epithelial tissues in patients.

The Epistem team have developed powerful models to elucidate the mechanism of action of cells and to characterise the escalator-like process of cell production required to maintain the integrity of epithelial tissues.  These models remain unmatched, in the field of stem cell biology, for studying the behaviour of adult (non-embryonic) stem cells.

Epistem's discovery platform integrates its unparalleled knowledge of stem cells and models alongside proprietary high-resolution gene expression profiling technology.