The large intestine is a home for trillions of microbiota, which confer many benefits on the host, including production of vitamins, absorption of nutrients, pathogen displacement, and development of the immune system. For several decades, germ-free animals have been used to study the interaction between the host and its microbiota. This minireview describes the technical aspects for establishing and maintaining germ-free animals and highlights the advantages and disadvantages for germ-free animals as experimental models.

The c-KIT receptor tyrosine kinase mediates the cellular response to stem cell factor (SCF). Whereas c-KIT activity is important for the proliferation of hematopoietic cells, melanocytes and germ cells, uncontrolled c-KIT activity contributes to the growth of diverse human tumors. Suppressor of cytokine signaling 6 (SOCS6) is a member of the SOCS family of E3 ubiquitin ligases that can interact with c-KIT and suppress c-KIT-dependent pathways. Here, we analyzed the molecular mechanisms that determine SOCS6 substrate recognition. Our results show that the SH2 domain of SOCS6 is essential for its interaction with c-KIT pY568. The 1.45-Å crystal structure of SOCS6 SH2 domain bound to the c-KIT substrate peptide (c-KIT residues 564 -574) revealed a highly complementary and specific interface giving rise to a high affinity interaction (K d ‫؍‬ 0.3 M). Interestingly, the SH2 binding pocket extends to substrate residue position pY؉6 and envelopes the c-KIT phosphopeptide with a large BG loop insertion that contributes significantly to substrate interaction. We demonstrate that SOCS6 has ubiquitin ligase activity toward c-KIT and regulates c-KIT protein turnover in cells. Our data support a role of SOCS6 as a feedback inhibitor of SCF-dependent signaling and provides molecular data to account for target specificity within the SOCS family of ubiquitin ligases.

Background:Flt3 is an important regulator of hematopoiesis and is often found mutated and constitutively active in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Results: SOCS6 is up-regulated by Flt3 activation and binds to phosphorylated Flt3. Conclusion: SOCS6 is a negative regulator of Flt3 signaling. Significance: Our results provide a role for SOCS6 in Flt3 signaling. The absence of SOCS6 promotes transformation of cells by Flt3 ITD.

Mammalian brain development is initiated in utero and internal and external environmental signals can affect this process all the way until adulthood. Recent observations suggest that one such external cue is the indigenous microbiota which has been shown to affect developmental programming of the brain. This may have consequences for brain maturation and function that impact on cognitive functions later in life. This review discusses these recent findings from a developmental perspective.