Group leader: 

Nick Barker

Position: 

Visiting Professor

Contact: 

Institute of Medical Biology, A-STAR, Singapore
nicholas [dot] barker [at] imb [dot] a-star [dot] edu [dot] sg

Research interests
The availability of robust cell-surface markers for identifying and isolating adult stem cells is essential for studying both their normal in-vivo function during tissue renewal and for evaluating their contribution to cancer.

Such markers are also invaluable for facilitating purification of these stem cell populations for therapeutic applications. The Wnt target gene Lgr5, an orphan G-protein-coupled receptor, has been shown to mark adult stem cells in a variety of adult organs, including the intestine, skin and stomach.

In the intestine, Lgr5 stem cells are responsible for initiating cancer following mutation. The presence of Lgr5-expressing cells in human cancers of the gastrointestinal tract has also led to speculation that Lgr5 marks a population of cancer stem cells.

Nick's group at the Institute of Medical Biology (A-STAR in Singapore) employs genetic mouse models and ex-vivo organoid culture methods to dissect the role of Lgr5 adult stem cells in epithelial self-renewal and cancer of various organs, including the stomach and ovary. The ultimate goal is to harness the regenerative capacity of these adult stem cells for therapeutic use, as well as developing ways of blocking the cancer-promoting activities of mutated Lgr5 stem cells.


Image shows stomach stem cells labelled with green fluorescent protein.

Interview with Nick Barker on the EuroStemCell website.

Selected publications

• Leushacke M and Barker N. 2011. Lgr5 and Lgr6 as markers to study adult stem cell roles in self-renewal and cancer. Oncogene Oct 17. doi:10.1038/onc.2011.479.
• De Lau W, Barker N, Low TY, Koo B-K, Li V, Teunissen H, Kujala P, Haegebarth A, Peters PJ, van de Wetering M, Stange DE, van Es J, Guardavaccaro D, Schasfoort R, Mohri Y, Nishimori K, Mohammed S, Heck SM, Heck AJR and Clevers H. 2011. Lgr5 homologues associate with Wnt receptors and mediate Rspondin signaling. Nature 476:293-7. doi:10.1038/nature10337
• Barker N, Huch, M, Kujala P, van de Wetering M, Snippert HJ, van Es JH, Sato T, et al. 2010. Lgr5+ve Stem Cells Drive Self-Renewal in the Pyloric Stomach and Build Long-Lived Pyloric Gastric Units In-Vitro. Cell Stem Cell 6(1):25-36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2009.11.013.
• Barker N, Ridgway RA, van Es JH, van de Wetering M, Begthel H, van den Born M, Danenberg E, Clarke AR, Sansom OJ, and Clevers H. 2009. Crypt stem cells as the Cells-of-Origin of Intestinal Cancer. Nature 457(7229):608-11. doi:10.1038/nature07602.
• Barker N, van Es JH, Kuipers J, Kujala P, van den Born M, Cozijnsen M, Haegebarth A, Korving J, Begthel H, Peters PJ, Clevers H. 2007. Identification of stem cells in small intestine and colon by marker gene Lgr5. Nature 449(7165):1003-7. doi:10.1038/nature06196.