The gut microbiome in bullous pemphigoid: implications of the gut-skin axis for disease susceptibility.

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune blistering disease that primarily affects the elderly. An altered skin microbiota in BP was recently revealed. Accumulating evidence points toward a link between the gut microbiota and skin diseases; however, the gut microbiota composition of BP patients remains largely underexplored, with only one pilot study to date, with a very limited sample size and no functional profiling of gut microbiota.

Key features of the genetic architecture and evolution of host-microbe interactions revealed by high-resolution genetic mapping of the mucosa-associated gut microbiome in hybrid mice.

Determining the forces that shape diversity in host-associated bacterial communities is critical to understanding the evolution and maintenance of metaorganisms. To gain deeper understanding of the role of host genetics in shaping gut microbial traits, we employed a powerful genetic mapping approach using inbred lines derived from the hybrid zone of two incipient house mouse species. Furthermore, we uniquely performed our analysis on microbial traits measured at the gut mucosal interface, which is in more direct contact with host cells and the immune system.

Assessing similarities and disparities in the skin microbiota between wild and laboratory populations of house mice.

The house mouse is a key model organism in skin research including host-microbiota interactions, yet little is known about the skin microbiota of free-living mice. It is similarly unclear how closely laboratory mice, which typically live under exceptionally hygienic conditions, resemble the ancestral state of microbial variation in the wild. In this study, we sampled an area spanning 270 km in south-west France and collected 203 wild Mus musculus domesticus.

Inhibition of ERK-MAP kinase signaling by RSK during Drosophila development.

Although p90 ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK) is known as an important downstream effector of the ribosomal protein S6 kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Ras/ERK) pathway, its endogenous role, and precise molecular function remain unclear. Using gain-of-function and null mutants of RSK, its physiological role was successfully characterized in Drosophila. Surprisingly, RSK-null mutants were viable, but exhibited developmental abnormalities related to an enhanced ERK-dependent cellular differentiation such as ectopic photoreceptor- and vein-cell formation.