Differences in gut microbiota activity (antimicrobials, potential mutagens, and sterols) according to diet

The human endogenous intestinal microbiota is an essential “organ” in providing nourishment, regulating epithelial development, and instructing innate immunity. Even though lots of scientists have evaluated the content of gut microbiota from various points of view, we examined the content of intestinal microbes in the group of healthy middle aged volunteers (40–60) form Slovakia. We have compared faecal cultivable microbiota of vegetarians and omnivores. We have found that the composition of the human microbiota is fairly stable, and it seems that the major microbial groups on species level that dominate the human intestine are conserved in all individuals regardless of dietary habits. Beside the microbial content we have examined the faecal samples also for the presence of antimicrobial active compounds, potential mutagens, and faecal sterols

A cell-ECM mechanism for connecting the ipsilateral eye to the brain.

Information about features in the visual world is parsed by circuits in the retina and is then transmitted to the brain by distinct subtypes of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Axons from RGC subtypes are stratified in retinorecipient brain nuclei, such as the superior colliculus (SC), to provide a segregated relay of parallel and feature-specific visual streams. Here, we sought to identify the molecular mechanisms that direct the stereotyped laminar targeting of these axons. We focused on ipsilateral-projecting subtypes of RGCs (ipsiRGCs) whose axons target a deep SC sublamina. We identified an extracellular glycoprotein, Nephronectin (NPNT), whose expression is restricted to this ipsiRGC-targeted sublamina. SC-derived NPNT and integrin receptors expressed by ipsiRGCs are both required for the targeting of ipsiRGC axons to the deep sublamina of SC. Thus, a cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) recognition mechanism specifies precise laminar targeting of ipsiRGC axons and the assembly of eye-specific parallel visual pathways