Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: The Wnt receptor Fzd7 is essential for stem cell function in the intestine but its function in the stomach is unknown. Fzd7 is expressed in the antrum of the gastric epithelium, which can be used to culture organoids (top). After genetic deletion of Fzd7, such organoids cannot survive beyond 72 hours (bottom). This is also true in vivo, with deletion of Fzd7 resulting in rapid repopulation of the gastric epithelium in mice; thus demonstrating that Wnt signalling, via Fzd7, is crucial for gastric homeostasis. See article by Flanagan et al. on page 971. Cover image by Dustin J. Flanagan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
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EDITORIAL
Human tissue models in cancer research: looking beyond the mouse
Summary: Samuel Jackson and Gareth Thomas discuss the limitations of patient-derived xenograft mouse models and highlight initiatives to maximise the use of human tissue in cancer research, with the goal of improving translation and reducing animal experimentation.
REVIEWS
Therapeutic strategies for spinal muscular atrophy: SMN and beyond
Summary: Translational research for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) should address the development of non-CNS and survival motor neuron (SMN)-independent therapeutic approaches to complement and enhance the benefits of CNS-directed and SMN-dependent therapies.
Congenital diaphragmatic hernias: from genes to mechanisms to therapies
Summary: In this Review, Kardon et al. discuss the complex etiology of congenital diaphragmatic hernia, as revealed by comprehensive genomic analyses and modeling in mice, and highlight the need for new therapies to treat this developmental disorder.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Loss of the Wnt receptor frizzled 7 in the mouse gastric epithelium is deleterious and triggers rapid repopulation in vivo
Editors’ choice: Wnt signalling regulates homeostasis of the gastric epithelium via the Fzd7 receptor, which could be a target for therapeutic intervention in gastric cancer.
Meis1: effects on motor phenotypes and the sensorimotor system in mice
Summary: Loss of Meis1 results in motor restlessness in mice, a phenotype resembling human restless legs syndrome, as well as altered sensorimotor gating and improved social discrimination memory.
(CCUG)n RNA toxicity in a Drosophila model of myotonic dystrophy type 2 (DM2) activates apoptosis
Summary: A Drosophila model of myotonic dystrophy type 2 (DM2) recapitulates several features of the human disease, identifies apoptosis as a contributing factor to DM2, and is likely to provide a convenient tool for drug screening.
A mouse model of hereditary coproporphyria identified in an ENU mutagenesis screen
Summary: A mouse mutagenesis model of hereditary coproporphyria has significant genetic and biochemical parallels to that of the human condition.
A novel experimental rat model of peripheral nerve scarring that reliably mimics post-surgical complications and recurring adhesions
Summary: An easily reproducible and reliable rat model for peripheral nerve scarring that allows for the effective testing of new therapeutic strategies.
RESOURCE ARTICLE
Bar-coding neurodegeneration: identifying subcellular effects of human neurodegenerative disease proteins using Drosophila leg neurons
Summary: Toxic effects of neurodegenerative disease proteins on neuronal function and morphology can be addressed using an array of transgenic fluorescent reporters in the adult Drosophila leg.
New Special Issue: Translating Multiscale Research in Rare Disease. Edited by Monica Justice, Monkol Lek, Karen Liu and Kate Rauen.
This special issue features original Research, Resources & Methods and Review-type articles that aim to interrogate the mechanisms of rare diseases to foster meaningful clinical progress in their diagnosis and treatment.
The role of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) guidelines in disease modelling
The ISSCR provides comprehensive guidelines and standards for using human stem cells in biomedical research. In this Editorial, Cody Juguilon and Joseph Wu discuss how and why these should be incorporated in disease modelling research.
Subject collection: Building advocacy into research
DMM’s series - Building advocacy into research - features interviews, ‘The Patient’s Voice’, with patients and advocates for a range of disease types, with the aim of supporting the highest quality research for the benefit of all patients affected by disease.
Read & Publish Open Access publishing: what authors say
We have had great feedback from authors who have benefitted from our Read & Publish agreement with their institution and have been able to publish Open Access with us without paying an APC. Read what they had to say.
Biologists @ 100 - join us in Liverpool in March 2025
We are excited to invite you to a unique scientific conference, celebrating the 100-year anniversary of The Company of Biologists, and bringing together our different communities. The conference will incorporate the Spring Meetings of the BSCB and the BSDB, the JEB Symposium Sensory Perception in a Changing World and a DMM programme on antimicrobial resistance. Find out more and register your interest to join us in March 2025 in Liverpool, UK.