Issues

Summary: Temporal patterning is the mechanism by which neural progenitors change their competence and proliferative properties during development. Recent data suggest that co-opted temporal patterning could govern tumor growth in neural cancers with developmental origins.

Summary: Modeling neuromuscular diseases is challenging due to their complex etiology and pathophysiology. Here, we review the cell sources and tissue-engineering procedures that are being integrated as emerging neuromuscular disease models.

Summary: We show that loss of the lysosomal channel TRPML1, responsible for mucolipidosis IV, leads to delayed maturation of oligodendrocytes in early postnatal development, resulting in brain hypomyelination.

Summary: Here, we developed and characterised a novel HIF-1α-Cre fusion protein to trace the progeny of hypoxic tumour cells in a temporal and spatially resolved manner using intravital microscopy.

Summary: Following injury, constitutive activation of KRAS in the murine pancreas inhibits regeneration and instead promotes the formation of preneoplastic lesions by blocking Hedgehog signal transduction by forcing disassembly of the primary cilium.

Summary: Human TCF4, a bHLH transcription factor, is associated with intellectual disability and schizophrenia. Here, we propose a Drosophila model for human disease studies using the fruit fly TCF4 orthologue, Daughterless.

Summary: Sole expression of the mutant frataxin G127V protein is sufficient for viability of the first Friedreich's ataxia point mutation mouse model, but induces premature senescence in isolated cells.

Summary: We demonstrate that, when fed to flies, TONDU peptide suppresses Yki-driven intestinal stem cell (ISC) tumors, and identify integrins as essential components of ISC tumorigenesis.

Summary: Genome-wide association studies combined with in vitro human cardiac cell assays and a model organism suitable for heart studies in vivo connect CNOT1, CNOT7 and overall the CCR4-NOT complex to human heart disease and morbidity.

Summary: We have established a novel zebrafish infection model to investigate Toxoplasma replication in vivo, and demonstrate a key role for macrophages in parasite control.

Summary: Postnatal deletion of Ccn2 in chondrocytes does not affect the development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis in mice.

Summary: A model of post-surgical methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus implant-associated spinal infection was created in rabbits, recapitulating acute infection as well as chronic low-burden infection, with structures suggestive of biofilm formation and bone remodeling.

Editor's choice: This paper presents the MouseRefSWATH mouse reference spectral library as a standardized community resource for SWATH-mass spectrometry studies and the XenoSWATH pipeline for species-specific deconvolution of human xenograft proteomic data.

Summary: Sentinel interaction mapping is a technique that employs systematic genetic interaction mapping to identify yeast-human genetic interactions, which can be used to rapidly functionalize human disease genes and their variants.