EDITORIAL
- Tracking progress: an update on animal models for Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Summary: With the development of a novel rabbit model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (dmm032201), this Editorial reflects on the current animal models of this disease, their promise, prospects and pitfalls.
REVIEWS
- Using Drosophila to study mechanisms of hereditary hearing loss
Summary: This Review discusses the similarities and differences between hearing in mammals and the fruit fly Drosophila, and describes how recent technological developments allow Drosophila to be used as a model to understand the function of human deafness genes.
- Collagen VI in healthy and diseased nervous system
Summary: Although collagen VI was so far known to be mostly involved in skeletal muscle homeostasis, this Review summarizes a number of recent studies that highlight its key role in the peripheral and central nervous systems, pointing at a link with human neurological disorders.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- RNaseT2 knockout rats exhibit hippocampal neuropathology and deficits in memory
Summary: The authors characterize a rodent model of RNaseT2 deficiency, which offers insight into the susceptibility of the hippocampus to early inflammation caused by lysosome impairment due to loss of RNaseT2 function.
- Adding a temporal dimension to the study of Friedreich's ataxia: the effect of frataxin overexpression in a human cell model
Summary: We have probed the effect of overexpression of the frataxin gene in an inducible cellular model. Our data indicate that the levels of frataxin must be tightly regulated, because any imbalance leads to oxidative stress and toxicity.
- Intramyocardial angiogenetic stem cells and epicardial erythropoietin save the acute ischemic heart
Summary: Cardiac mesenchymal stem cells respond early to myocardial infarction. Their regenerative capacity is directly upregulated by optimized stimulation of the heart through epicardial erythropoietin delivery.
- Genetic and cellular sensitivity of Caenorhabditis elegans to the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin
Summary: Caenorhabditis elegans is a valuable model to identify genetic factors influencing the animal response to the widely used chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin.
- Cacna1c haploinsufficiency leads to pro-social 50-kHz ultrasonic communication deficits in rats
Summary: The present study suggests that Cacna1c plays a prominent role in regulating socio-affective communication in rats with relevance for neuropsychiatric disorders.
- Subchondral drilling for articular cartilage repair: a systematic review of translational research
Summary: Cartilage defects initiate osteoarthritis. This is the first systematic review of translational evidence of cartilage defects in animal models treated by drilling, enhancing translation from basic science to clinical application.
- A comprehensive study of calcific aortic stenosis: from rabbit to human samples
Summary: Using a rabbit model of calcific aortic stenosis, we have defined a molecular panel of three proteins related to osteoblastic differentiation. Additionally, this panel has been confirmed in human samples.
- Epigenetic regulators Rbbp4 and Hdac1 are overexpressed in a zebrafish model of RB1 embryonal brain tumor, and are required for neural progenitor survival and proliferation
Summary: This study shows that chromatin remodelers that are overexpressed in a zebrafish model of RB1 mutant brain cancer are required for neural progenitor proliferation and survival, providing insight into potential mechanisms that drive tumor growth.
- Increased FGF8 signaling promotes chondrogenic rather than osteogenic development in the embryonic skull
Summary: Cranial ossification responds to Fgf8 overexpression in a dose-dependent manner with moderate levels leading to craniosynostosis and higher levels shifting cranial vault ossification to abnormal cartilage formation.
- Etiology and treatment of adrenoleukodystrophy: new insights from Drosophila
Summary: Using a Drosophila model of adrenoleukodystrophy, the authors provide evidence against the current view that an accumulation of lipid metabolic pathway precursors is causative of this neurometabolic disease. Rather, a lack of pathway product is the causative factor and addition of medium-chain fatty acids to the diet prevented the onset of neurodegeneration.
- Impaired β-cell glucokinase as an underlying mechanism in diet-induced diabetes
Summary: β-cell glucokinase expression is decreased in diet-induced diabetes. β-cell-targeted overexpression of glucokinase improved the diabetic phenotype, suggesting an etiological role of glucokinase downregulation in diet-induced diabetes.
- Lifespan analysis of brain development, gene expression and behavioral phenotypes in the Ts1Cje, Ts65Dn and Dp(16)1/Yey mouse models of Down syndrome
Editor's choice: Comparison of corticogenesis, gene expression and behavior in three mouse models of Down syndrome revealed major differences between the models as well as significant limitations in each strain for understanding neurobiological changes in the human phenotype.
- Nmnat mitigates sensory dysfunction in a Drosophila model of paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy
Summary: Neurotoxic side effects of chemotherapy are poorly understood. Here, the authors optimize a Drosophila model of paclitaxel-induced sensory dysfunction, which is then used to explore the neuroprotective capacity of Nmnat.
- A novel rabbit model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy generated by CRISPR/Cas9
Summary: The DMD KO rabbit engineered by CRISPR genome editing faithfully recapitulates the DMD pathologies, and could be a valuable tool for basic and translational studies to combat this 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.
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.