scholarly journals Apical restriction of the planar cell polarity component VANGL in pancreatic ducts is required to maintain epithelial integrity

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydie Flasse ◽  
Siham Yennek ◽  
Cédric Cortijo ◽  
Irene Seijo Barandiaran ◽  
Marine R-C Kraus ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTCell polarity is essential for the architecture and function of numerous epithelial tissues. Here we show how planar cell polarity (PCP), so far studied principally in flat epithelia, is deployed during the morphogenesis of a tubular organ. Using the mammalian pancreas as a model, we report that components of the core PCP pathway such as the transmembrane protein Van Gogh-like (VANGL), are progressively apically-restricted. VANGL expression becomes asymmetrically localized at the apical surface of ductal cells, revealing a planar polarization of the pancreatic duct. We further show that restricting VANGL to these discrete sites of expression is crucial for epithelial integrity. Expansion of expression on basolateral membranes of the progenitors leads to their death and extrusion from the epithelium, as previously observed for perturbations of apico-basal polarity. Using organoids and in vivo analyses, we show that cell elimination is induced by a decrease of Rock activity via Dishevelled.

Cell Reports ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 107677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydie Flasse ◽  
Siham Yennek ◽  
Cédric Cortijo ◽  
Irene Seijo Barandiaran ◽  
Marine R.-C. Kraus ◽  
...  

Development ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena P. Basta ◽  
Michael Hill-Oliva ◽  
Sarah V. Paramore ◽  
Rishabh Sharan ◽  
Audrey Goh ◽  
...  

The collective polarization of cellular structures and behaviors across a tissue plane is a near universal feature of epithelia known as planar cell polarity (PCP). This property is controlled by the core PCP pathway, which is comprised of highly conserved membrane-associated protein complexes that localize asymmetrically at cell junctions. Here we introduce three new mouse models for investigating the localization and dynamics of transmembrane PCP proteins Celsr1, Fz6, and Vangl2. Using the skin epidermis as a model, we characterize and verify the expression, localization and function of endogenously-tagged Celsr1-3xGFP, Fz6-3xGFP and tdTomato-Vangl2 fusion proteins. Live imaging of Fz6-3xGFP in basal epidermal progenitors reveals that the polarity of the tissue is not fixed through time. Rather asymmetry dynamically shifts during cell rearrangements and divisions, while global, average polarity of the tissue is preserved. We show using super-resolution STED imaging that Fz6-3xGFP and tdTomato-Vangl2 can be resolved, enabling us to observe their complex localization along junctions. We further explore PCP fusion protein localization in the trachea and neural tube, and discover new patterns of PCP expression and localization throughout the mouse embryo.


Author(s):  
Andre Landin Malt ◽  
Shaylyn Clancy ◽  
Diane Hwang ◽  
Alice Liu ◽  
Connor Smith ◽  
...  

During development, sensory hair cells (HCs) in the cochlea assemble a stereociliary hair bundle on their apical surface with planar polarized structure and orientation. We have recently identified a non-canonical, Wnt/G-protein/PI3K signaling pathway that promotes cochlear outgrowth and coordinates planar polarization of the HC apical cytoskeleton and alignment of HC orientation across the cochlear epithelium. Here, we determined the involvement of the kinase Gsk3β and the small GTPase Rac1 in non-canonical Wnt signaling and its regulation of the planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway in the cochlea. We provided the first in vivo evidence for Wnt regulation of Gsk3β activity via inhibitory Ser9 phosphorylation. Furthermore, we carried out genetic rescue experiments of cochlear defects caused by blocking Wnt secretion. We showed that cochlear outgrowth was partially rescued by genetic ablation of Gsk3β but not by expression of stabilized β-catenin; while PCP defects, including hair bundle polarity and junctional localization of the core PCP proteins Fzd6 and Dvl2, were partially rescued by either Gsk3β ablation or constitutive activation of Rac1. Our results identify Gsk3β and likely Rac1 as downstream components of non-canonical Wnt signaling and mediators of cochlear outgrowth, HC planar polarity, and localization of a subset of core PCP proteins in the cochlea.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 160658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy S. Findlay ◽  
D. Alessio Panzica ◽  
Petr Walczysko ◽  
Amy B. Holt ◽  
Deborah J. Henderson ◽  
...  

This study shows that the core planar cell polarity (PCP) genes direct the aligned cell migration in the adult corneal epithelium, a stratified squamous epithelium on the outer surface of the vertebrate eye. Expression of multiple core PCP genes was demonstrated in the adult corneal epithelium. PCP components were manipulated genetically and pharmacologically in human and mouse corneal epithelial cells in vivo and in vitro . Knockdown of VANGL2 reduced the directional component of migration of human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells without affecting speed. It was shown that signalling through PCP mediators, dishevelled, dishevelled-associated activator of morphogenesis and Rho-associated protein kinase directs the alignment of HCE cells by affecting cytoskeletal reorganization. Cells in which VANGL2 was disrupted tended to misalign on grooved surfaces and migrate across, rather than parallel to the grooves. Adult corneal epithelial cells in which Vangl2 had been conditionally deleted showed a reduced rate of wound-healing migration. Conditional deletion of Vangl2 in the mouse corneal epithelium ablated the normal highly stereotyped patterns of centripetal cell migration in vivo from the periphery (limbus) to the centre of the cornea. Corneal opacity owing to chronic wounding is a major cause of degenerative blindness across the world, and this study shows that Vangl2 activity is required for directional corneal epithelial migration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabila Founounou ◽  
Reza Farhadifar ◽  
Giovanna M. Collu ◽  
Ursula Weber ◽  
Michael J. Shelley ◽  
...  

AbstractThe phenomenon of tissue fluidity—cells’ ability to rearrange relative to each other in confluent tissues—has been linked to several morphogenetic processes and diseases, yet few molecular regulators of tissue fluidity are known. Ommatidial rotation (OR), directed by planar cell polarity signaling, occurs during Drosophila eye morphogenesis and shares many features with polarized cellular migration in vertebrates. We utilize in vivo live imaging analysis tools to quantify dynamic cellular morphologies during OR, revealing that OR is driven autonomously by ommatidial cell clusters rotating in successive pulses within a permissive substrate. Through analysis of a rotation-specific nemo mutant, we demonstrate that precise regulation of junctional E-cadherin levels is critical for modulating the mechanical properties of the tissue to allow rotation to progress. Our study defines Nemo as a molecular tool to induce a transition from solid-like tissues to more viscoelastic tissues broadening our molecular understanding of tissue fluidity.


1982 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 333-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Greenburg ◽  
E D Hay

This study of epithelial-mesenchymal transformation and epithelial cell polarity in vitro reveals that environmental conditions can have a profound effect on the epithelial phenotype, cell shape, and polarity as expressed by the presence of apical and basal surfaces. A number of different adult and embryonic epithelia were suspended within native collagen gels. Under these conditions, cells elongate, detach from the explants, and migrate as individual cells within the three-dimensional lattice, a previously unknown property of well-differentiated epithelia. Epithelial cells from adult and embryonic anterior lens were studied in detail. Elongated cells derived from the apical surface develop pseudopodia and filopodia characteristic of migratory cells and acquire a morphology and ultrastructure virtually indistinguishable from that of mesenchymal cells in vivo. It is concluded from these experiments that the three-dimensional collagen gel can promote dissociation, migration, and acquisition of secretory organelles by differentiated epithelial cells, and can abolish the apical-basal cell polarity characteristic of the original epithelium.


eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley C Humphries ◽  
Sonali Narang ◽  
Marek Mlodzik

Planar cell polarity (PCP) and neural tube defects (NTDs) are linked, with a subset of NTD patients found to harbor mutations in PCP genes, but there is limited data on whether these mutations disrupt PCP signaling in vivo. The core PCP gene Van Gogh (Vang), Vangl1/2 in mammals, is the most specific for PCP. We thus addressed potential causality of NTD-associated Vangl1/2 mutations, from either mouse or human patients, in Drosophila allowing intricate analysis of the PCP pathway. Introducing the respective mammalian mutations into Drosophila Vang revealed defective phenotypic and functional behaviors, with changes to Vang localization, post-translational modification, and mechanistic function, such as its ability to interact with PCP effectors. Our findings provide mechanistic insight into how different mammalian mutations contribute to developmental disorders and strengthen the link between PCP and NTD. Importantly, analyses of the human mutations revealed that each is a causative factor for the associated NTD.


Development ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 147 (23) ◽  
pp. dev193425
Author(s):  
Krishnanand Padmanabhan ◽  
Hanna Grobe ◽  
Jonathan Cohen ◽  
Arad Soffer ◽  
Adnan Mahly ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTPlanar cell polarity (PCP) is essential for tissue morphogenesis and homeostasis; however, the mechanisms that orchestrate the cell shape and packing dynamics required to establish PCP are poorly understood. Here, we identified a major role for the globular (G)-actin-binding protein thymosin-β4 (TMSB4X) in PCP establishment and cell adhesion in the developing epidermis. Depletion of Tmsb4x in mouse embryos hindered eyelid closure and hair-follicle angling owing to PCP defects. Tmsb4x depletion did not preclude epidermal cell adhesion in vivo or in vitro; however, it resulted in abnormal structural organization and stability of adherens junction (AJ) due to defects in filamentous (F)-actin and G-actin distribution. In cultured keratinocytes, TMSB4X depletion increased the perijunctional G/F-actin ratio and decreased G-actin incorporation into junctional actin networks, but it did not change the overall actin expression level or cellular F-actin content. A pharmacological treatment that increased the G/F-actin ratio and decreased actin polymerization mimicked the effects of Tmsb4x depletion on both AJs and PCP. Our results provide insights into the regulation of the actin pool and its involvement in AJ function and PCP establishment.


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