Disease Models & Mechanisms | The Company of Biologists

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Disease Models & Mechanisms (DMM) is an Open Access biomedical research journal focusing on the use of model systems to better understand, diagnose and treat human disease.

The primary aim of DMM is to promote human health by inspiring collaboration between basic and clinical researchers in translational science. The journal is committed to presenting rigorously peer-reviewed research that has significant translational impact. The interdisciplinary nature of DMM means that a diverse range of diseases, approaches and models fall within its broad scope. DMM is guided by an international team of expert research-active Editors, led by Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Patton and Deputy Editor-in-Chief Elaine Mardis, and supported by an outstanding Editorial Advisory Board.

In their Perspective, Hans Clevers and colleagues discuss how pulmonary organoid model systems for COVID-19 research have played a significant role in understanding SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and might change the way we screen for potential antivirals in the future. In an accompanying Editorial, DMM Editor-in-Chief Liz Patton outlines how appropriate model systems are needed to study the virus and disease. As an Open Access journal that publishes research that strives to understand and model diseases, including COVID-19, DMM aims to support global research in this area.

Reviews from DMM

Studying Müllerian duct anomalies – from cataloguing phenotypes to discovering causation by Laura Santana González, Mara Artibani and Ahmed Ashour Ahmed.

Ahmed and colleagues review current knowledge of Müllerian duct anomalies in the context of new high-throughput technologies and model systems, and their implications in the prevention of these disorders.

Mitochondrial function in development and disease

Marlies P. Rossmann, Sonia M. Dubois, Suneet Agarwal and Leonard I. Zon

Mitochondria have a plethora of functions beyond metabolism. This comprehensive Review discusses the emerging and multifaceted roles of mitochondria in different model organisms and human disease biology.

Editor’s Choice

Transcriptomic analyses of gastrulation-stage mouse embryos with differential susceptibility to alcohol by Karen E. Boschen, Travis S. Ptacek, Matthew E. Berginski Jeremy M. Simon and Scott E. Parnell

RNA-sequencing in gastrulation-stage mouse embryos provides information about gene expression patterns during normal mouse development, as well as evidence that pre-existing genetic variability mediates risk to prenatal alcohol-induced birth defects. Learn more in our First Person interview with Karen Boschen.

Featured article

Stephanie Pütz and colleagues showed that loss of p21-activated kinase Mbt (the PAK4 homolog) causes Parkinson-like phenotypes in Drosophila, including age-dependent movement deficits, shortened life expectancy and fragmented sleep. Generation of dopaminergic neurons from neural progenitors during development is impaired.