About the Cover
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Cover: Presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2; orange) in the gut of Drosophila melanogaster following infection. Bandarra et al. identified a novel function of the mammalian hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) and the Drosophila homologue (Sima) in restraining the major inflammation-responsive transcription factor, nuclear factor κB (NF-κB). H2O2 levels were increased in sima loss-of-function transgenic flies following Serratia marcescens infection. HIF-1α was identified as an inhibitor of NF-κB activity, and could therefore be important in preventing excessive and harmful pro-inflammatory responses. See article by Bandarra et al. on page 169.
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Editor’s choice - A yeast-based screening assay identifies repurposed drugs that suppress mitochondrial fusion and mtDNA maintenance defects
Mitochondria are conserved among eukaryotes and mutations in the factors that control their dynamics are causal for various human disorders. Thomas Delerue et al. show that yeast models can be used for pharmacological screenings.
In this Editorial Julija Hmeljak and Monica Justice discuss the importance of model systems with accurate face, construct, target and predictive validity for rare disease research.
Chris Ponting reflects on the potential of the Human Cell Atlas project for improving our understanding of disease.
Investigation of the crosstalk between the Wnt and other signaling pathways will improve understanding of orofacial cleft development and provide opportunities for treatment and prevention, say Chengji Zhou and team.
Research Article - Early detection of pre-malignant lesions in a KRASG12D-driven mouse lung cancer model by monitoring circulating free DNA
Callum Rakhit et al. show that a liquid biopsy approach is capable of tracking early lung cancer lesions, before the adenoma-adenocarcinoma transition, in an early lung cancer mouse model driven by a KRAS mutation.
First person interviews
Have you seen our interviews with the early-career first authors of our papers? The authors talk about their work in and out of the lab, the journeys that led them to where they are now and the scientists who inspired them along the way. Recently, we caught up with Amanda Havighorst, Michelle Stewart, Sandra Muñoz-Braceras, Daniel Sobrido-Cameán, Edward Griffin, Callum Rakhit and Ricky Trigg, Andrea Raposo López-Pastor and Kriti Chaplot.
Call for papers – A guide to using neuromuscular disease models for basic and preclinical studies
We invite you to submit original research for a Special Collection focused on neuromuscular disease models, edited by Annemieke Aartsma-Rus, James Dowling and Maaike van Putten. The collection will showcase studies on the dysregulation of pathways, disease progression, approaches to treat and modify disease course in animal models, technologies for studying muscle pathophysiology and regeneration, and advances in the development of suitable in vitro and in vivo models. Submission deadline: 3 June 2019.
Scientific Meeting Grants
The Company of Biologists provides grants to fund scientific meetings, workshops and conferences in the fields covered by our journals. Typically, meetings with fewer than 100 people may be granted up to £2,000, increasing up to £6,000 for about 400 people. The next deadline to apply is 25 March 2019.
preLights - Quantification of microenvironmental metabolites in murine cancer models reveals determinants of tumor nutrient availability
Maria Rafaeva highlights a preprint about cancer metabolism by Alexander Muir and team. The authors find out what can be learned from analysing metabolites in tumour infiltrating fluid rather than in blood plasma.
Catch up with other recent preLights selected for the translational biology community.