Issues
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Crosstalk between androgen receptor and WNT/β-catenin signaling causes sex-specific adrenocortical hyperplasia in mice
Editor's choice: Activation of R-spondin 1 signaling in the adrenal cortex leads to a sexually dimorphic phenotype in mice, causing hyperplasia in females and immune cell recruitment in males.
Unexpected phenotypic and molecular changes of combined glucocerebrosidase and acid sphingomyelinase deficiency
Summary: Simultaneous inhibition of gba1 and smpd1 gene function (both implicated in Parkinson's disease) unexpectedly rescues neuronal gene expression and mitochondrial defects, and extends the lifespan of gba1 mutant zebrafish.
Vemurafenib improves muscle histopathology in a mouse model of LAMA2-related congenital muscular dystrophy
Summary: Vemurafenib partially improves muscle histopathology by restoring the TGF-β/SMAD3 and mTORC1/p70S6K signaling pathways but does not improve muscle function in a mouse model of LAMA2-related-congenital muscular dystrophy.
Development of the aganglionic colon following surgical rescue in a cell therapy model of Hirschsprung disease in rat
Summary: Surgical rescue of Ednrb−/− rats, a model for Hirschsprung disease, required dietary intervention for survival and showed reduced colon diameter in the aganglionic region, overall normal histology and changes in innervation.
RESOURCE ARTICLES
Facial analytics based on a coordinate extrapolation system (zFACE) for morphometric phenotyping of developing zebrafish
Summary: We report a method to rapidly analyze craniofacial development in zebrafish embryos using morphometric analysis, creating a new platform to quantitatively detect phenotypic variation after genetic alteration.
An automated microscopy workflow to study Shigella–neutrophil interactions and antibiotic efficacy in vivo
Summary: Development of an automated image analysis workflow to enable fast and reliant immune cell counting in Shigella-infected zebrafish larvae, and to reveal the in vivo impact of antibiotics on Shigella–neutrophil interactions.
An arginase 2 promoter transgenic line illuminates immune cell polarisation in zebrafish
Summary: A new zebrafish transgenic line that labels the expression of the gene arg2 can be used to visualise immune cell polarisation and investigate the mechanisms of innate immunity during infections.
FIRST PERSON
DMM Journal Meeting 2023: Infectious Diseases Through an Evolutionary Lens

The abstract submission deadline for our 2023 Journal Meeting ‘Infectious Diseases Through an Evolutionary Lens’ is 14 July 2023. Find out more and register here.
The Forest of Biologists

The Forest of Biologists is a biodiversity initiative created by The Company of Biologists, with support from the Woodland Trust. For every Research and Review article published in Disease Models & Mechanisms a native tree is planted in a UK forest. In addition to this we are protecting and restoring ancient woodland and are dedicating these trees to our peer reviewers. Visit our virtual forest to learn more.
Propose a new Workshop for 2025

Do you have an idea for a Workshop? If so, click here. We are now accepting proposals for our 2025 Workshops programme. As the scientific organiser, your involvement will be focused on the science. We'll take care of all the logistics. In 2025 we'll continue our efforts to diversify our Workshop programme and will be reserving one of our Workshops for an application from a Global South country to host an event overseas.
How stromal cells restrict liver cancer invasion

In our recent editor’s choice, Liqin Zhu and colleagues describe how they used in vitro liver spheroid models consisting of both parenchymal and non-parenchymal cells to reveal a hepatoprotective role for peritumoral hepatic stellate cells in liver tumorigenesis.
And from perspective… Hacking haematopoiesis – emerging tools for examining variant effects

Thousands of genomic loci have been linked to hematopoietic traits and diseases, yet many await functional validation. Michael Gundry and Vijay G. Sankaran discuss recent advances in genome editing and the challenges associated with using these techniques to assess variant function in primary hematopoietic cells.