Deep in the forests of northern Czech Republic hides the Institute of Microbiology, Department of Immunology and Gnotobiology, a laboratory of great renown. Here Dr. Ranata Stepankova and her colleagues have mastered the techniques for raising animals, everything from pigs to mice, in germ-free environments. What use is this? Bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract play an important role in the health of an organism. The intestinal flora helps digest foods and protect the intestines from mechanical and chemical harm. Yet some bacteria are pathogenic, and have been linked to various gastrointestinal diseases. Controlling the presence or absence of bacteria in the gut lets us study its symbiotic/pathogenic relationship with the body.

Here at the University of Arizona, in the laboratory of Dr. Katerina Dvorakova, we study the effect of several bile acids that are considered damaging to the intestinal cells. Western-style high fat diet leads to increased levels of the “cell damaging” bile acid in the colon. Bacteria populating the gut play an important role in the bile acid composition. To evaluate the adverse effect of bile acids in colonic tissue we use biomarkers that signal for pre-cancerous conditions. In the Czech Republic, I studied the expression of one of these biomarkers, Cleaved Caspase-3, in germ-free and conventional rats. The work continues on both sides of the Atlantic.

In the Czech Republic, I found delightful people in and outside of work as well as a country full of beautiful rolling hills, dark primeval forests, sunny fields, a huge variety of beers, a rich history, and a country with rapidly changing social and economical ideals. I went to study in a laboratory, but found my real lessons came from the amazing people I met and the new world I entered. Thank you to everyone who helped me along the way, especially Dr. Dvorakova, Dr. Stepankova, and the one who made it all possible, Carol Bender.

Megan Wilson, UBRPer in Dr. Katerina Dvorakova’s lab, Microbiology & Immunology