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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Editor’s Choice – Mild maternal hyperglycemia in INSC93S transgenic pigs causes impaired glucose tolerance and metabolic alterations in neonatal offspring
Simone Renner and colleagues used a transgenic pig model to show that mild hyperglycemia in insulin-mutant mothers results in poorer glucose tolerance and metabolic disturbances in the offspring, even wild-type ones.
In their article and accompanying poster, Martina Konantz and colleagues summarize the last 20 years of research in zebrafish models for hematopoietic disorders, highlighting how these models were created and are being applied for translational research.
A new Resource article from Susanne Sattler’s group describes a refined MRI technique to quantify acute hemorrhagic myocarditis in mice.
Have you seen our interviews with the early-career first authors of our papers? Recently, we caught up with Karishma Chhabria, Eleftheria Pervolaraki, Tamio Furuse, Hiroshi Mizuma, Katja Graf, Antonia Last and Monika Tomecka.
DMM joins the Review Commons initiative
Disease Models & Mechanisms is pleased to be a part of the new and exciting Review Commons initiative, launched by EMBO and ASAPbio. Streamlining the publishing process, Review Commons enables high-quality peer review to take place before journal submission. Papers submitted to Review Commons will be assessed independently of any journal, focusing solely on the paper’s scientific rigor and merit.
preLights – preLights reaches 500 posts!
The success of preLights is down to the hard work of our preLighters. Head over to the preLights website to find out more about our most active early-career-researchers.