Researchers from Valencia, Spain, report on their investigation into intestinal Staphylococcus species present in children with celiac disease. The researchers collected fecal samples from 60 children — 20 with active celiac disease, 20 with inactive celiac disease, and 20 healthy controls — and, using PCR and sequencing, identified which Staphylococci were present and whether they carried virulence genes. From this, the researchers found that samples from patients with active disease showed a higher diversity of Staphylococci , and samples from patients with active and inactive disease were more likely to have S. epidermidis, particularly ones that harbor the mecA virulence gene or both the mecA and atlE virulence genes. "This study demonstrates that CD is associated with shifts in Staphylococcus species diversity and abundance in the intestinal microbiota," the researchers write, adding that their findings suggest "children with CD have greater exposure to opportunistic staphylococcal pathogens and antimicrobials, which in turn affects the composition/features of their intestinal microbiota."

Also in the Journal of Clinical Pathology, researchers led by Seung Sam Paik at Hanyang University in Seoul discuss their examination of tumor suppressor cell adhesion molecule 4 — or CADM4 — expression in 513 colorectal adenocarcinoma samples. They report that CADM4 was highly expressed in about 40 percent of the colorectal adenocarcinoma samples; that it was expressed at a reduced rate in 36 percent of samples; and that it was not expressed in 23 percent of colorectal adenocarcinoma samples studied. Paik and his team add that down-regulation or loss of CADM4 is linked to a lack of E-cadherin expression, and with Ki-67 expression, as well as poorer overall and disease-free survival. "Our findings suggest that CADM4 expression is a marker of cancer progression and poor prognosis," the researchers say.