OBITUARY
REVIEW
- 3D bioprinting: improving in vitro models of metastasis with heterogeneous tumor microenvironments
Summary: Here, Albritton and Miller discuss recent 3D bioprinting advances that can be used to produce heterogeneous tumor microenvironments for improved physical modeling of cancer metastasis.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- A novel brain tumour model in zebrafish reveals the role of YAP activation in MAPK- and PI3K-induced malignant growth
Editors' choice: A new brain tumour model in zebrafish allows simultaneous analysis of malignant tumours and heterotopias, suggesting that both lesions originate from similar events, with Yap1 as a driving force in tumour development.
- Prenatal ethanol exposure in mice phenocopies Cdon mutation by impeding Shh function in the etiology of optic nerve hypoplasia
Summary: In utero exposure to ethanol causes defects in optic nerve formation by interfering with Shh signaling activity in the growth and differentiation of retinal progenitor cells in the developing mouse eye.
- Stromal hedgehog signaling maintains smooth muscle and hampers micro-invasive prostate cancer
Summary: New insights are provided into the role of hedgehog signaling in maintaining prostate smooth muscle and place hedgehog as a candidate pathway of therapeutic value for treating individuals with prostate cancer.
- S113R mutation in SLC33A1 leads to neurodegeneration and augmented BMP signaling in a mouse model
Summary: Slc33a1wt/mut knock-in mice with a S113R mutation and exhibiting hereditary spastic paraplegia-related phenotypes show that SLC33A1 negatively regulates BMP signaling and axonal regeneration.
RESOURCE ARTICLE
- Standardized echocardiographic assessment of cardiac function in normal adult zebrafish and heart disease models
Summary: Standardization of zebrafish echocardiography provides insights into cardiac physiology in normal and diseased states, with application for functional studies in zebrafish models of heart disease.
This issue
Other journals from The Company of Biologists
First person – Zhaoyang, Omkara, Christine and Yong
Catch up with our first authors in the latest interviews. Zhaoyang Liu, Omkara Lakshmi Veeranki, Christine Lehner and Yong Chen discuss the implications of their research, life as an early-career researcher and their next steps.
A new resource article by Dipen Maru's group describes a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft model of gastroesphageal cancer that maintains the morphological and molecular characteristics of the source tumour.
There are still funded places available for early-career researchers at July’s Workshop on inflammaging and regeneration! The deadline for applications is 14 February. We’re also interested to hear your ideas for Workshops – find out more about how we can provide support.
The first preLight of 2020 and the first time we’ve highlighted a medRxiv preprint! Zhang-He Goh discusses a new preprint by Witte et al. assessing the correlation between ovarian cancer patient-derived organoids and patients’ clinical response to chemotherapeutics.
Cover article – Regulation of terminal hypertrophic chondrocyte differentiation in Prmt5 mutant mice modeling infantile idiopathic scoliosis
On the cover, research by Liu et al. demonstrates that the loss of Prmt5 osteochondral progenitors impairs terminal hypertrophic chondrocyte differentiation, leading to defects in endochondral bone formation and models infantile idiopathic scoliosis in mouse.