Gut microbiota in gastrointestinal diseases during pregnancy.

Gut microbiota (GM) is a micro-ecosystem composed of all microorganisms in the human intestine. The interaction between GM and the host plays an important role in maintaining normal physiological functions in the host. Dysbiosis of the GM may cause various diseases.

Integrated miRNA and mRNA expression profiling in fetal hippocampus with Down syndrome.

Backgrounds: Down syndrome (DS), caused by triplication of human chromosome 21, is the most common aneuploidies. The main characteristic of DS patients is intellectual disability. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important regulatory roles in various biological processes, such as embryonic development, cell differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis.

Down syndrome critical region protein 5 regulates membrane localization of Wnt receptors, Dishevelled stability and convergent extension in vertebrate embryos.

The Glypican family of heparan sulfate proteoglycans regulates Wnt signaling and convergent extension (CE) in vertebrate embryos. They are predicted to be glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-tethered membrane-bound proteins, but there is no functional evidence of their regulation by the GPI synthesis complex. Down syndrome critical region protein 5 (Dscr5, also known as Pigp) is a component of the GPI-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GPI-GnT) complex, and is associated with specific features of Down syndrome.