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
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DMM and COVID-19
We are aware that the COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on researchers worldwide. The Editors of all The Company of Biologists’ journals have been considering ways in which we can alleviate concerns that members of our community may have around publishing activities during this time. Read about the actions we are taking at this time.
Please don’t hesitate to contact the Editorial Office if you have any questions or concerns.
Professor Elizabeth Patton appointed as DMM’s next Editor-in-Chief
We are pleased to announce that The Company of Biologists directors have appointed Professor Elizabeth Patton as DMM's new Editor-in-Chief. As Paresh Vyas writes in his Editorial, Liz ‘brings vitality and a passion for the remit of DMM, and is deeply embedded in the community.’
Did you know DMM Conference Travel Grants can be used for online meetings?
With travel restrictions still in place, we want to continue supporting early-career researchers in their careers. DMM’s Conference Travel Grants can now be used to attend virtual and online scientific meetings, workshops, conferences and training courses.
The current application round closes on 8 February 2021 – find out more.
Identification of MYOM2 as a candidate gene in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and Tetralogy of Fallot, and its functional evaluation in the Drosophila heart
Research from Silke Sperling and colleagues uses Drosophila to identify MYOM2 as a candidate gene in congenital heart malformations in this issue’s Editor’s choice.
C. elegans as a disease model
A new Research article from Doyle et al., models spinal muscular atrophy in C. elegans to show that that targeting therapies to muscle cells is more effective than neuronal delivery. Find more research using C. elegans as a disease model in our latest subject collection.
Call for papers – The RAS Pathway: Diseases, Therapeutics and Beyond
Our upcoming special issue is now welcoming submissions until 1 April 2021. Guest-edited by Donita Brady (Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, USA) and Arvin Dar (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA), the issue will focus on the targeting the RAS pathway. Find out more about the issue and how to submit your manuscript.
Interview – Kim Landry-Truchon and Nicolas Houde
In an interview, first authors Kim Landry-Truchon and Nicolas Houde discuss their mouse model of the early stages of pleuropulmonary blastoma, reflecting on the implications of their work and the future of their field.