Gut microbiota in VCMsh2/Tgfbr2 mice

Mutations in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes are causative in Lynch Syndrome (LS) and a significant proportion of sporadic colorectal cancers (CRCs). MMR-deficient CRCs (dMMR CRCs) display increased mutation rates and are characterized by the accumulation of mutations at short repetitive DNA sequences interspersed throughout the genome (termed microsatellite instability, MSI) as well as within coding regions. The TGFBR2 gene is one of the most frequently mutated genes in dMMR CRCs. Therefore, we generated an animal model to study how the loss of both TGFBR2 signaling impacts dMMR-driven intestinal tumorigenesis in vivo and explore the impact of the gut microbiota in the process.