Mesenchymal-epithelial transitions (METs) are important in both development and the growth of secondary tumours. Although the molecular basis for epithelial polarity is well studied, less is known about the cues that induce MET. Here we show that Netrins, well known as chemotropic guidance factors, provide a basal polarising cue during the Drosophila midgut MET. Both netrinA and netrinB are exp...

Invertebrate animals have the capacity of repairing wounds in the skin and gut via different mechanisms. Gastrointestinal perforation, a hole in the human gastrointestinal system, is a serious condition, and surgery is necessary to repair the perforation to prevent an abdominal abscess or sepsis. Here we report the repair of gastrointestinal perforation made by a needle-puncture wound in the si...

Mosquito midgut stages of the malaria parasite present an attractive biological system to study host-parasite interactions and develop interventions to block disease transmission. Mosquito infection ensues upon oocyst development that follows ookinete invasion and traversal of the mosquito midgut epithelium. Here, we report the characterization of PIMMS2 (Plasmodium Invasion of Mosquito Midgut ...

When virus and microfilariae are ingested concurrently by a mosquito, microfilariae (mf) may penetrate the mosquito midgut and introduce virus directly into the mosquito hemocoel, allowing mosquitoes to become infectious much sooner than normal and enhancing transmission of viruses by mosquitoes. Mansonella ozzardi (Manson) is a benign filarial nematode parasite of humans in Latin America and i...

Membrane-bound alkaline phosphatases (mALPs, EC 3.1.3.1) in the insect midgut have been reported as functional receptors for Cry toxins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. We previously reported the identification of HvALP in the midgut of Heliothis virescens larvae as a Cry1Ac-binding protein that is down-regulated in Cry1Ac-resistant insects. To further characterize HvALP, we localized...

The adult Drosophila midgut is established during the larval/pupal transition from undifferentiated cells known as adult midgut precursors (AMPs). Four fundamental cell types are found in the adult midgut epithelium: undifferentiated intestinal stem cells (ISCs) and their committed daughter cells, enteroblasts (EBs), plus enterocytes (ECs) and enteroendocrine cells (EEs). Using the Drosophila p...

The heme peroxidase HPX15 is an evolutionary conserved anopheline lineage-specific gene. Previously, we found that this gene is present in the genome of 19 worldwide distributed different species of Anopheles mosquito and its orthologs are absent in other mosquitoes, insects, or human. In addition, 65-99% amino acid identity among these 19 orthologs permitted us to hypothesize that the function...

Midgut malrotation is a congenital anomaly of intestinal rotation and fixation that is generally seen in neonatal population. Adult cases are rarely reported. Early diagnosis is crucial to avoid life threatening complications. Here, we present an adulthood case of midgut volvulus as a rare cause of acute abdomen.

INTRODUCTION To compensate for cell loss, most animal tissues maintain slowly proliferating populations of stem cells that are able to differentiate on demand. Given the great potential of stem cells for the management of many human diseases, it is important to understand in detail the molecular pathways that control the biology of stem cells, including their origin, pattern of proliferation an...