Delineating the molecular factors regulating intestinal proliferation and differentiation is crucial to our understanding of not only normal gut development and maturation, but also aberrant gut growth.
The NHEJ pathway is required not only for normal development but also for suppression of tumors.
Communication between these cell types is important not only for normal development, but also for prostate tumorigenesis [ 3].
Numerous studies using cell lines, knockout animals, and primary human cancer samples have demonstrated a crucial role for RUNX3 not only in normal development, but also in neoplasias, especially stomach cancers [ 3, 5, 11].
Identifying epithelial populations that have regenerative capacity and defining their extrinsic and intrinsic regulatory mechanisms are relevant to understanding not only the normal development but also the etiology of breast cancers in which transformed cells share proper-ties akin to those of stem cells, notably self-renewal [ 15].
Oestrogens not only influence normal development and function but are also implicated in the aetiology and progression of many diseases.
Proto-oncogenes such as c-Myb not only coordinate normal development of the distal colon, but altered expression is commonly associated with hyperproliferation of immature colorectal cells and overt cancer [37], [45].
By studying the 3D structure of the liver in conditional mouse strains, Sparks et al. show that altered Notch signalling not only disrupts normal development of bile ducts, as previously reported, but also causes a progressive obstruction of the bile duct network with age.
This pathway plays important roles not only in normal development, maintenance of tissue homeostasis and the regulation of immune system, but also in human diseases such as immune disorders, neurodegeneration and cancer.
Dauer larvae are environmentally resistant, have a greatly extended lifespan compared with non-dauer larvae, and will only resume normal development as fourth stage larvae (L4) when exposed to more favourable conditions.
