Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator knockout mice exhibit aberrant gastrointestinal microbiota.

The composition of the gastrointestinal microbiome is increasingly recognized as a crucial contributor to immune and metabolic homeostasis-deficiencies in which are characteristic of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. The murine model (CFTR (-/-) , CF), has, in previous studies, demonstrated characteristic CF gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations including slowed transit and significant upregulation of genes associated with inflammation. To determine if characteristics of the microbiome are associated with these phenotypes we used a phylogenetic microarray to compare small intestine bacterial communities of wild type and congenic CF mice.

Gastroesophageal reflux is not associated with dental erosion in children.

Background & Aims: Dental erosion is a complication of gastroesophageal reflux (GER) in adults; in children, it is not clear if GER has a role in dental pathologic conditions. Dietary intake, oral hygiene, high bacterial load, and decreased salivary flow might contribute independently to GER development or dental erosion, but their potential involvement in dental erosion from GER is not understood. We investigated the prevalence of dental erosion among children with and without GER symptoms, and whether salivary flow rate or bacterial load contribute to location-specific dental erosion.

Abnormal parathyroid cell proliferation precedes biochemical abnormalities in a mouse model of primary hyperparathyroidism.

The properties of neoplastic proliferation and hormonal dysregulation are tightly linked in primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT). However, whether abnormal parathyroid proliferation is the cause or result of a shift in calcium-sensitive parathyroid hormonal regulation has been controversial. We addressed this issue by analyzing the temporal sequence of these fundamental abnormalities in a mouse model of primary HPT.