REVIEWS
- Rodent models in Down syndrome research: impact and future opportunities
Summary: Mouse models have boosted therapeutic options for Down syndrome, and improved models are being developed to better understand the pathophysiology of this genetic condition.
- Central and peripheral circadian clocks and their role in Alzheimer's disease
Summary: This Review summarizes how studies in Drosophila and mouse models accelerate our understanding of the links between circadian rhythm dysfunctions and age-related neurodegenerative disorders, especially Alzheimer's disease.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- The chromatin remodeling BAP complex limits tumor-promoting activity of the Hippo pathway effector Yki to prevent neoplastic transformation in Drosophila epithelia
Summary: Using a Drosophila model of epithelial transformation, the authors identify the SWI/SNF BAP complex as an element that represses Yorkie activity and cooperates with the Yorkie protein in malignant tumor formation.
- p53-independent DUX4 pathology in cell and animal models of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy
Summary: DUX4 is thought to mediate cytopathology through p53. Here, DUX4 is shown to kill primary myoblasts and promote pathological phenotypes in the iDUX4[2.7] mouse model on the p53-null background, calling into question this notion.
- Activation of the Nkx2.5–Calr–p53 signaling pathway by hyperglycemia induces cardiac remodeling and dysfunction in adult zebrafish
Summary: Induction of hyperglycemia gives rise to cardiac apoptosis and dysfunction in adult zebrafish via the Nkx2.5–Calr–p53 signaling pathway, resulting in adult cardiomyopathy.
- Adipose tissue and metabolic and inflammatory responses to stroke are altered in obese mice
Summary: Obesity, a co-morbidity for stroke, affected the acute metabolic and inflammatory response to stroke, highlighting the importance of considering comorbidities in preclinical stroke research, especially when identifying biomarkers.
- Increased acetylation of microtubules rescues human tau-induced microtubule defects and neuromuscular junction abnormalities in Drosophila
Highlighted Article: Increased acetylation of microtubules by genetic and pharmacological approaches rescues human tau overexpression-induced toxicity in Drosophila muscles and neurons.
- MMP-14 overexpression correlates with the neurodegenerative process in familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy
Summary: MMP-14 overexpression correlates with familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy disease and progression, as determined using mouse models and human samples. TTR gene silencing in the preclinical model decreases MMP-14 plasma levels.
- The Parkinson's disease-associated protein DJ-1 plays a positive nonmitochondrial role in endocytosis in Dictyostelium cells
Editor's choice: The Dictyostelium homologue of the Parkinson's disease-associated protein DJ-1 is located in the cytosol, and its loss causes cytopathological defects in endocytic and autophagic cell death pathways, but stimulates respiration by functionally normal mitochondrial respiratory complexes.
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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.