scholarly journals Tao controls epithelial morphogenesis by promoting Fasciclin 2 endocytosis

2012 ◽  
Vol 199 (7) ◽  
pp. 1131-1143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Manuel Gomez ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Veit Riechmann
Keyword(s):  
Cell Adhesion ◽  
Adhesion Molecule ◽  
Cell Adhesion Molecule ◽  
Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule ◽  
Squamous Epithelium ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Lateral Membrane ◽  
Membrane Extension ◽  
Neural Cell Adhesion ◽  
Mutant Cells

Regulation of epithelial cell shape, for example, changes in relative sizes of apical, basal, and lateral membranes, is a key mechanism driving morphogenesis. However, it is unclear how epithelial cells control the size of their membranes. In the epithelium of the Drosophila melanogaster ovary, cuboidal precursor cells transform into a squamous epithelium through a process that involves lateral membrane shortening coupled to apical membrane extension. In this paper, we report a mutation in the gene Tao, which resulted in the loss of this cuboidal to squamous transition. We show that the inability of Tao mutant cells to shorten their membranes was caused by the accumulation of the cell adhesion molecule Fasciclin 2, the Drosophila N-CAM (neural cell adhesion molecule) homologue. Fasciclin 2 accumulation at the lateral membrane of Tao mutant cells prevented membrane shrinking and thereby inhibited morphogenesis. In wild-type cells, Tao initiated morphogenesis by promoting Fasciclin 2 endocytosis at the lateral membrane. Thus, we identify here a mechanism controlling the morphogenesis of a squamous epithelium.

scholarly journals Regulation of Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule Polysialylation: Evidence for Nontranscriptional Control and Sensitivity to an Intracellular Pool of Calcium

1998 ◽  
Vol 140 (5) ◽  
pp. 1177-1186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan L. Brusés ◽  
Urs Rutishauser
Keyword(s):  
Cell Adhesion ◽  
Adhesion Molecule ◽  
Cell Adhesion Molecule ◽  
Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule ◽  
Calcium Ionophore ◽  
Cytosolic Calcium ◽  
Neural Cell ◽  
Ciliary Ganglion ◽  
Cellular Mechanisms ◽  
Neural Cell Adhesion

The up- and downregulation of polysialic acid–neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA–NCAM) expression on motorneurons during development is associated respectively with target innervation and synaptogenesis, and is regulated at the level of PSA enzymatic biosynthesis involving specific polysialyltransferase activity. The purpose of this study has been to describe the cellular mechanisms by which that regulation might occur. It has been found that developmental regulation of PSA synthesis by ciliary ganglion motorneurons is not reflected in the levels of polysialyltransferase-1 (PST) or sialyltransferase-X (STX) mRNA. On the other hand, PSA synthesis in both the ciliary ganglion and the developing tectum appears to be coupled to the concentration of calcium in intracellular compartments. This study documents a calcium dependence of polysialyltransferase activity in a cell-free assay over the range of 0.1–1 mM, and a rapid sensitivity of new PSA synthesis, as measured in a pulse–chase analysis of tissue explants, to calcium ionophore perturbation of intracellular calcium levels. Moreover, the relevant calcium pool appears to be within a specific intracellular compartment that is sensitive to thapsigargin and does not directly reflect the level of cytosolic calcium. Perturbation of other major second messenger systems, such as cAMP and protein kinase–dependent pathways, did not affect polysialylation in the pulse chase analysis. These results suggest that the shuttling of calcium to different pools within the cell can result in the rapid regulation of PSA synthesis in developing tissues.

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