background esophageal, stomach, and colorectal cancers are commonly lethal gastrointestinal tract (git) neoplasms, causing almost two million deaths worldwide each year. some environmental risk factors are acknowledged; however, genetic defects can significantly contribute to predisposition to git cancers. accordingly, recent works have shown that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) within m...

Mesodermal progenitors arise in the Drosophila embryo from discrete clusters of lethal of scute (l'sc)-expressing cells. Using both genetic loss-of-function and targeted ectopic expression approaches, we demonstrate here that individual progenitors are specified by the sequential deployment of unique combinations of intercellular signals. Initially, the intersection between the Wingless (Wg) an...

The FGF receptor Heartless (HTL) is required for mesodermal cell migration in the Drosophila gastrula. We show that mesoderm cells undergo different phases of specific cell shape changes during mesoderm migration. During the migratory phase, the cells adhere to the basal surface of the ectoderm and exhibit extensive protrusive activity. HTL is required for the protrusive activity of the mesoder...