The pioneer transcription factor Zelda facilitates the exit from regeneration and restoration of patterning in .

For a damaged tissue to regenerate, the injured site must repair the wound, proliferate, and restore the correct patterning and cell types. We found that Zelda, a pioneer transcription factor largely known for its role in embryonic zygotic genome activation, is dispensable for normal wing development but crucial for wing disc patterning during regeneration. Impairing Zelda function during disc regeneration resulted in adult wings with a plethora of cell fate errors, affecting the veins, margins, and posterior compartment identity.

The Chordate Origins of Heart Regeneration.

The human heart is infamous for not healing after infarction in adults, prompting biomedical interest in species that can regenerate damaged hearts. In such animals as zebrafish and neonatal mice, cardiac repair relies on remaining heart tissue supporting cardiomyocyte proliferation. Natural cardiogenesis in post-embryonic stages thus remains elusive.

Taranis Protects Regenerating Tissue from Fate Changes Induced by the Wound Response in Drosophila.

Regenerating tissue must replace lost structures with cells of the proper identity and function. How regenerating tissue establishes or maintains correct cell fates during regrowth is an open question. We have identified a gene, taranis, that is essential for maintaining proper cell fate in damaged and regenerating Drosophila wing imaginal discs but that is dispensable for these fates in normal wing development.

A pathogenic relationship between a regulator of the actin cytoskeleton and serum response factor.

Cell hyperproliferation, inflammation, and angiogenesis are biological processes central to the pathogenesis of corneal disease, as well as other conditions including tumorigenesis and chronic inflammatory disorders. Due to the number of disease conditions that arise as a result of these abnormalities, identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes is critical. The avascular and transparent cornea serves as a good in vivo model to study the pathogenesis of cell hyperproliferation, inflammation, and angiogenesis.