Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Doublecortin (DCX)-immunopositive cells and fibers in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of adult mice. See article by Li et al. on page 1615.
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EDITORIAL
A new brand for Disease Models & Mechanisms and The Company of Biologists
Summary: The launch of a new brand and website for DMM.
A MODEL FOR LIFE
Communicating the molecular basis of cancer cell-by-cell: an interview with Tatsushi Igaki
Summary: We spoke to Tatsushi Igaki about his research using Drosophila models to uncover the principles of cell-cell communication in development and cancer. He describes his passion for research and the key events that shaped his career.
REVIEW
Non-muscle myosin II in disease: mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities
Summary: Non-muscle myosin II (NMII) contributes to diverse diseases, including neuronal disorders, cancer and vascular disease. We address the role of NMII in disease pathology and highlight promising clinical applications of NMII inhibitors for disease and stem-cell-based therapies.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
A novel mouse model of tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC): eye-specific Tsc1-ablation disrupts visual-pathway development
Editors' choice: Conditional deletion of Tsc1 in the eye results in hamartoma formation and defects in retinal ganglion cell development – a novel mouse model providing insights into visual pathway involvement in TSC.
Interactions between the otitis media gene, Fbxo11, and p53 in the mouse embryonic lung
Summary: Genetic interactions between Fbxo11 and p53 illustrate the cross-talk between the TGF-β and p53 signalling pathways in epithelial development, with implications for the underlying molecular pathology of otitis media.
MAP3K1 function is essential for cytoarchitecture of the mouse organ of Corti and survival of auditory hair cells
Summary: Map3k1 mutant mice exhibit early-onset profound hearing loss and supernumerary outer hair cells, along with dysregulation of the FGF signaling pathway, accentuating its function in otic epithelium development and morphogenesis.
The goya mouse mutant reveals distinct newly identified roles for MAP3K1 in the development and survival of cochlear sensory hair cells
Summary: The ENU-derived mouse mutant goya, reveals, for the first time, multiple roles of MAP3K1 in cochlear development and correct auditory function.
Pentamidine rescues contractility and rhythmicity in a Drosophila model of myotonic dystrophy heart dysfunction
Summary: The authors characterize a cardiac-dysfunction model of DM1 in Drosophila, and show that pentamidine rescues both contractility and rhythmicity.
Regulation of mitochondrial oxidative stress by β-arrestins in cultured human cardiac fibroblasts
Summary: β-arrestins regulate oxidative stress in a Nox4-dependent manner leading to increased extracellular-matrix protein synthesis by cardiac fibroblasts (CFs). Targeted inhibition of β-arrestins in CFs might decrease pathological fibrosis.
Impaired myelination and reduced brain ferric iron in the mouse model of mucolipidosis IV
Summary: Loss-of-function mutations in the MCOLN1 gene encoding transient receptor potential channel mucolipin-1 (TRPML1) result in a devastating lysosomal storage disorder, mucolipidosis IV. Here, we report that loss of TRPML1 in mice causes developmental aberrations of brain myelination.
Polarization of the epithelial layer and apical localization of integrins are required for engulfment of apoptotic cells in the Drosophila ovary
Summary: Apical integrin localization, mediated by polarized and directed trafficking, is crucial for proper engulfment by epithelial cells.
Seipin knockout in mice impairs stem cell proliferation and progenitor cell differentiation in the adult hippocampal dentate gyrus via reduced levels of PPARγ
Summary: By reducing PPARγ, neuronal seipin deficiency impairs adult neurogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus to produce a depression-like phenotype in mice.
Human umbilical cord matrix-derived stem cells exert trophic effects on β-cell survival in diabetic rats and isolated islets
Summary: The newly identified paracrine role of umbilical cord stem cells highlights their therapeutic utilities to treat not only the autoimmune-mediated type 1 diabetes but also type 2 diabetes.
RESOURCE ARTICLES
A modified choline-deficient, ethionine-supplemented diet reduces morbidity and retains a liver progenitor cell response in mice
Summary: This modified choline-deficient, ethionine-supplemented model induces liver injury in mice and reproducibly minimizes morbidity and mortality, whilst maintaining a liver-progenitor-cell response sufficient for cell-line establishment.
CLARITY and PACT-based imaging of adult zebrafish and mouse for whole-animal analysis of infections
Summary: The authors apply the CLARITY and PACT techniques to image infectious structures located deep within whole adult zebrafish and mouse organs, enabling visualization of mycobacterial granulomas and host response without sectioning.
Call for papers: Moving Heart Failure to Heart Success

Disease Models & Mechanisms is pleased to welcome submissions for consideration for an upcoming special issue, Moving Heart Failure to Heart Success: Mechanisms, Regeneration & Therapy. The deadline for submitting articles to the special issue has been extended to 1 August 2022.
Modelling interactions at the blood–brain barrier

In their Review, Yvonne Adams and Anja Ramstedt Jensen review the available in vitro models to investigate the impact of adhesion of Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells on the blood–brain barrier, a process associated with cerebral malaria.
Focus on Genetic Variance in Human Disease

New technologies, computational methods and model systems are revealing how human genetic variance contributes to disease mechanisms. DMM’s new Subject Focus highlights this evolving area of research.
Apply for a DMM Conference Travel Grant

Aimed at early-career researchers wanting to attend in-person and virtual meetings, the next application deadline for a DMM Conference Travel Grant is 1 September 2022. Find out more and hear from past recipients about their experience of the grant.