A MODEL FOR LIFE
- Building genetic tools in Drosophila research: an interview with Gerald Rubin
Drosophila Collection: Ross Cagan spoke to Gerry Rubin about his career path and the story behind some of his key breakthroughs, as well as his unique and successful approach to management and mentorship.
REVIEW
- Using Drosophila to discover mechanisms underlying type 2 diabetes
Drosophila Collection: Studies in Drosophila hold the potential to transform our understanding of the genetics of diabetes. We review important findings and provide a framework for diabetes gene discovery in the fly.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- Neurodegeneration in a Drosophila model of adrenoleukodystrophy: the roles of the Bubblegum and Double bubble acyl-CoA synthetases
Drosophila Collection: A new Drosophila model of ALD reveals dysregulation of fatty acid metabolism as causal of neurodegenerative pathologies and has led to the identification of a new candidate gene for ALD in humans.
- Phenotypic chemical screening using a zebrafish neural crest EMT reporter identifies retinoic acid as an inhibitor of epithelial morphogenesis
Editors' choice: Generation and characterization of a novel neural crest EMT reporter for rapid in vivo drug screening in zebrafish that identifies a small-molecule EMT inhibitor that blocks this process by activating retinoic acid signaling.
- 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors as hypothalamic targets of developmental programming in male rats
Summary: Maternal protein restriction increases fetal brain 5-HT and might contribute to changes in production and function of hypothalamic 5-HT2C and 5-HT2A receptors in the offspring later in life.
- Common arterial trunk and ventricular non-compaction in Lrp2 knockout mice indicate a crucial role of LRP2 in cardiac development
Summary: This paper sheds a new light on the role of the second heart field and neural crest cells in outflow tract formation in the mouse embryo. Depletion of the LPR2 results in a disturbed contribution pattern and subsequent common arterial trunk.
- Depletion of regulatory T cells leads to an exacerbation of delayed-type hypersensitivity arthritis in C57BL/6 mice that can be counteracted by IL-17 blockade
Summary: This paper increases the understanding of disease drivers and regulators in delayed-type hypersensitivity arthritis, a robust and reproducible arthritis model in C57BL/6 mice.
- Angiotensin-(1-7) attenuates disuse skeletal muscle atrophy in mice via its receptor, Mas
Summary: In this article, the authors demonstrate that a peptide with actions mainly in the cardiovascular system prevents the skeletal muscle damage induced by disuse.
RESOURCE ARTICLES
- Decreased N-TAF1 expression in X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism patient-specific neural stem cells
Summary: This study describes a new iPSC model of X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism (XDP), which was initially validated by demonstrating a similar transcriptional defect as has been previously reported in XDP brain tissue.
- New Wistar Kyoto and spontaneously hypertensive rat transgenic models with ubiquitous expression of green fluorescent protein
Summary: We have created two transgenic models expressing ubiquitous GFP in WKY and SHR rat lines to support in vivo and ex vivo studies. We show their characterisation and discuss their potential use for translational research.
- Multimodal analysis of ocular inflammation using the endotoxin-induced uveitis mouse model
Summary: A refined platform approach for endotoxin-induced uveitis, using multimodal ex vivo and in vivo assessment, to improve quantification and phenotyping in this ocular model of compartmentalised tissue inflammation.
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.
Travel grants and how to use them (when there’s no travel)
“2020 may be a year of imaginary travel across Zoom backgrounds, but the science is still happening and we’re not planning on missing it.”
Read our Editorial, which explains how DMM and its publisher, The Company of Biologists, have adapted the financial support they provide in response to the ongoing pandemic.
Interviews – Shohei Yoshimoto, Patricia Shaw, Jelmer Hoeksma
First authors Shohei Yoshimoto, Patricia Shaw and Jelmer Hoeksma each take us behind the scenes of their latest papers in DMM, discussing the merits of their model systems, the implications of their work and life as an early-career researcher.
Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva: current concepts from bench to bedside
Arun-Kumar Kaliya-Perumal, Tom J. Carney and Philip W. Ingham present a comprehensive summary of the recent literature on this debilitating condition and discuss approaches to solving this clinical puzzle.
Call for papers - The RAS Pathway: Diseases, Therapeutics and Beyond
DMM invites you to submit original research for a special issue focused on targeting the RAS pathway. The submission deadline is 1 March 2021. Find out more and showcase your breakthrough research in this special collection.
Pathological evaluation of rats carrying in-frame mutations in the dystrophin gene: a new model of Becker muscular dystrophy
In October’s Editor’s choice, Yamanouchi et al’s newly established rat model exhibits the dystrophic phenotype and abnormal dystrophin expression profile, similar to patients with Becker muscular dystrophy.