Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Photoreceptors in Drosophila adult compound eyes. The number of rhabdomeres (marked with phalloidin staining; green) within photoreceptors (outlined with Na+/K+-ATPase staining; magenta) is decreased in dDBT-deficient Drosophila compared to that in wild type, indicating that loss of dDBT activity results in neuronal damage. See article by Tsai et al. (dmm044750). Cover image is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
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EDITORIAL
FIRST PERSON
REVIEWS
Sex-dependent effect of APOE on Alzheimer's disease and other age-related neurodegenerative disorders
Summary: The APOE ε4 allele and female sex are among the strongest risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's disease. We explore how the interplay between these factors affects risk for this and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases.
Integrating fish models in tuberculosis vaccine development
Summary: In this Review, we discuss how zebrafish (Danio rerio) and other fish models can complement the more traditional mammalian models in the development of novel vaccines against tuberculosis.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Loss of the Drosophila branched-chain α-ketoacid dehydrogenase complex results in neuronal dysfunction
Summary: Loss of BCKDH activity in Drosophila recapitulates the neurological symptoms of patients with maple syrup urine disease. Metformin administration was found to alleviate developmental defects and aberrant behavior in the BCKDH mutant.
A regulated NMD mouse model supports NMD inhibition as a viable therapeutic option to treat genetic diseases
Summary: Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay can be inhibited after completion of mammalian prenatal development without adverse effects in non-neurological, somatic tissues, indicating that such inhibition might be a viable therapeutic strategy.
Maltodextrin-induced intestinal injury in a neonatal mouse model
Summary: Using maltodextrin-dominant human infant formula feeding in combination with hypoxia, we developed a highly reproducible model of small intestinal injury in the neonatal mouse.
Generation and characterization of an Il2rg knockout Syrian hamster model for XSCID and HAdV-C6 infection in immunocompromised patients
Summary: Syrian hamsters are an important rodent species for studying multiple human diseases. We describe the generation and characterization of a hamster strain that is defective in the XCSID-associated IL2RG gene.
suz12 inactivation in p53- and nf1-deficient zebrafish accelerates the onset of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors and expands the spectrum of tumor types
Summary: In p53- and nf1-deficient zebrafish, onset of MPNSTs, as well as diverse other tumors, is accelerated by loss of the suz12 tumor suppressor, accompanied by global reduction in H3K27me3 marks and increased Ras-Mapk signaling.
Nrf2/HO-1 mediates the neuroprotective effects of pramipexole by attenuating oxidative damage and mitochondrial perturbation after traumatic brain injury in rats
Editor's choice: We administered pramipexole (PPX) to rats after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and evaluated various parameters, which indicate that the neuroprotective effects of PPX are mediated by activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway following TBI.
The transcription factor Maz is essential for normal eye development
Summary: Our study has uncovered Maz as an important regulator of eye development in humans and mice, striving to elucidate the role of this gene in eye abnormalities associated with the human ch16p11.2 microdeletions and microduplications.
Systemic and heart autonomous effects of sphingosine Δ4 desaturase deficiency in lipotoxic cardiac pathophysiology
Summary: Systemic versus heart autonomous functions of sphingosine Δ4 desaturase differentially regulate cardiac structure and function in a tissue-specific manner in Drosophila, where organ interplay mimics that observed in mammalian systems.
Virtual Meeting - Developmental Disorders: From Mechanism to Treatment
A collaboration between the Development and Disease Models & Mechanisms journal teams, this virtual Meeting will unite developmental biologists, human geneticists and clinical researchers to focus on building bridges from bench to clinic. Register your interest and find out more.
High-dose vitamin B1 therapy prevents the development of experimental fatty liver driven by overnutrition
Vitamin B1 is shown to prevent nutrition-induced fatty liver in our current Editor’s choice by Hay Davir and his colleagues, when they use sheep as a large-animal model for studying the disease.
Find out more in an interview with the paper's first authors, Mugagga Kalyesubula and Ramgopal Mopuri.
Upcoming grant deadlines
Grants awarded by The Company of Biologists help scientists travel, attend events and host sustainable activities. Make a note of the upcoming application deadlines and find out more about the grants on offer:
DMM Conference Travel Grants
17 May 2021
Sustainable Conferencing Grants
17 May 2021
Travelling Fellowships
31 May 2021
Scientific Meeting Grants
4 June 2021
Call for papers - The RAS Pathway: Diseases, Therapeutics and Beyond
Our upcoming special issue is welcoming submissions until 3 May 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 targeting the RAS pathway.