Modeling APC mutagenesis and familial adenomatous polyposis using human iPS cells.

Mutations in the gene Adenomatous Polyposis Coli or APC appear in most sporadic cases of colorectal cancer and it is the most frequent mutation causing hereditary Familial Adenomatous Polyposis. The detailed molecular mechanism by which APC mutations predispose to the development of colorectal cancer is not completely understood. This is in part due to the lack of accessibility to appropriate models that recapitulate the early events associated with APC mediated intestinal transformation.

Gut microbiota trajectory in early life may predict development of celiac disease.

Background: To investigate whether alterations in the developing intestinal microbiota and immune markers precede celiac disease (CD) onset in infants at familial risk of developing the disease.

Methods: A nested case-control study was carried out as part of a larger prospective cohort study, which included healthy full-term newborns (> 200) with at least one first relative with biopsy-verified CD. The present study includes cases of CD (n = 10) and the best-matched controls (n = 10) who did not develop the disease after 5-year follow-up.

Bioengineering of functional human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived intestinal grafts.

Patients with short bowel syndrome lack sufficient functional intestine to sustain themselves with enteral intake alone. Transplantable vascularized bioengineered intestine could restore nutrient absorption. Here we report the engineering of humanized intestinal grafts by repopulating decellularized rat intestinal matrix with human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived intestinal epithelium and human endothelium.

Oblique scanning laser microscopy for simultaneously volumetric structural and molecular imaging using only one raster scan.

Multi-modal three dimensional (3D) optical imaging combining both structural sensitivity and molecular specificity is highly desirable in biomedical research. In this paper, we present a method termed oblique scanning laser microscopy (OSLM) to combine optical coherence tomography (OCT), for simultaneously volumetric structural and molecular imaging with cellular resolution in all three dimensions. Conventional 3D laser scanning fluorescence microscopy requires repeated optical sectioning to create z-stacks in depth.

Toll pathway is required for wound-induced expression of barrier repair genes in the epidermis.

The epidermis serves as a protective barrier in animals. After epidermal injury, barrier repair requires activation of many wound response genes in epidermal cells surrounding wound sites. Two such genes in encode the enzymes dopa decarboxylase () and tyrosine hydroxylase ().

Planar cell polarity controls directional Notch signaling in the Drosophila leg.

The generation of functional structures during development requires tight spatial regulation of signaling pathways. Thus, in Drosophila legs, in which Notch pathway activity is required to specify joints, only cells distal to ligand-producing cells are capable of responding. Here, we show that the asymmetric distribution of planar cell polarity (PCP) proteins correlates with this spatial restriction of Notch activation.

Influence of breastfeeding versus formula feeding on lymphocyte subsets in infants at risk of coeliac disease: the PROFICEL study.

Purpose: In addition to genetic risk, environmental factors might influence coeliac disease (CD) development. We sought to assess the effect of the interaction between milk-feeding practices and the HLA-DQ genotype on peripheral lymphocyte subsets and their activation markers in infants at familial risk for CD.

Methods: 170 newborns were classified in 3 different genetic risk groups (high risk, HR; intermediate risk, IR; and low risk, LR) after DQB1 and DQA1 typing.

Influence of milk-feeding type and genetic risk of developing coeliac disease on intestinal microbiota of infants: the PROFICEL study.

Interactions between environmental factors and predisposing genes could be involved in the development of coeliac disease (CD). This study has assessed whether milk-feeding type and HLA-genotype influence the intestinal microbiota composition of infants with a family history of CD. The study included 164 healthy newborns, with at least one first-degree relative with CD, classified according to their HLA-DQ genotype by PCR-SSP DQB1 and DQA1 typing.

Influence of environmental and genetic factors linked to celiac disease risk on infant gut colonization by Bacteroides species.

Celiac disease (CD) is an immune-mediated enteropathy involving genetic and environmental factors whose interaction might influence disease risk. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of milk-feeding practices and the HLA-DQ genotype on intestinal colonization of Bacteroides species in infants at risk of CD development. This study included 75 full-term newborns with at least one first-degree relative suffering from CD.