REVIEWS
- Of numbers and movement – understanding transcription factor pathogenesis by advanced microscopy
Summary: Abundance and chromatin interactions determine transcription factor function; their disruption can impair development and cause disease. We survey advanced microscopy methodologies that measure these properties and discuss molecular mechanisms that underlie transcription factor haploinsufficiency.
- Pulmonary neuroendocrine cells: physiology, tissue homeostasis and disease
Summary: This Review highlights the physiological relevance of pulmonary neuroendocrine cells, rare airway epithelial cells that form intrapulmonary sensory organs, abnormalities of which are associated with several pulmonary disorders, such as asthma and lung cancer.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- Impaired muscle morphology in a Drosophila model of myosin storage myopathy was suppressed by overexpression of an E3 ubiquitin ligase
Summary:
Exploration of the phenotypes associated with the MYH7 R1845W mutation in skeletal muscles, and an alleviating mechanism of the pathological phenotype, suggesting E3-ligase modifier gene activity potentially affects the impact of the mutation.
- Alcoholic hepatitis and metabolic disturbance in female mice: a more tractable model than Nrf2−/− animals
Summary: We describe a simple murine model of alcoholic hepatitis (AH) to induce injury that recreates many of the key features of AH in human, without the need of challenging surgical procedures to administer ethanol. This will be valuable for testing new therapeutic treatments.
- Predicting experimental success: a retrospective case-control study using the rat intraluminal thread model of stroke
Summary: An assessment of the importance of peri-interventional monitoring to verify a successful experimental performance in order to ensure a disease model that is as homogeneous as possible.
- Deletion of Yy1 in mouse lung epithelium unveils molecular mechanisms governing pleuropulmonary blastoma pathogenesis
Summary: YY1 contributes to pleuropulmonary blastoma pathogenesis as a downstream target of abnormal epithelial DICER1-cleaved miRNA profile and as a transcriptional regulator of key players of lung development.
- Modulating the endoplasmic reticulum stress response attenuates neurodegeneration in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of spinal muscular atrophy
Summary: A new non-larval-lethal C. elegans model of spinal muscular atrophy shows mild phenotypes, such as muscle cell and neuronal degeneration, and is therefore useful for testing potential drug treatments.
- 3D quantification of changes in pancreatic islets in mouse models of diabetes type I and II
Summary: We report a 3D quantitative imaging platform (using light-sheet fluorescence microscopy) that can reveal changes in beta cell volume and proliferation, and leukocyte infiltration in pancreata in mouse models of diabetes.
- Identification of MYOM2 as a candidate gene in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and Tetralogy of Fallot, and its functional evaluation in the Drosophila heart
Editor's choice: MYOM2 plays a critical role in establishing or maintaining robust heart function, and is a candidate gene for heart diseases, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and Tetralogy of Fallot.
- Myh6-driven Cre recombinase activates the DNA damage response and the cell cycle in the myocardium in the absence of loxP sites
Summary: The presence of tamoxifen-induced Cre recombinase (merCremer) in the nucleus of cardiomyocytes induces DNA damage and unscheduled cell-cycle activation, indicating the requirement for appropriate controls when using Cre-loxP models for cardiac regeneration studies.
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.