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
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.
The twin pillars of Disease Models & Mechanisms
In her first Editorial as Editor-in-Chief, Liz Patton sets out her vision and priorities for DMM focusing on four thematic challenges: mechanisms of disease, innovative technologies, disease progression through time and therapy.
Extended deadline - The RAS Pathway: Diseases, Therapeutics and Beyond
Our upcoming special issue is welcoming submissions until 3 May 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.
Perspective - Modelling the developmental origins of paediatric cancer to improve patient outcomes
James Amatruda authors our first Perspective, discussing some of the key challenges in paediatric cancer from his perspective as a physician-scientist.
A muscle growth-promoting treatment based on the attenuation of activin/myostatin signalling results in long-term testicular abnormalities
In this issue’s Editor’s choice, Ketan Patel and colleagues describe how even brief exposure to muscle-growth-promoting treatments exerts a long-term detrimental effect on the testes, and test promising therapeutics to mitigate this side-effect.