scholarly journals Three C. elegans Rac proteins and several alternative Rac regulators control axon guidance, cell migration and apoptotic cell phagocytosis

Development ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 128 (22) ◽  
pp. 4475-4488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik A. Lundquist ◽  
Peter W. Reddien ◽  
Erika Hartwieg ◽  
H. Robert Horvitz ◽  
Cornelia I. Bargmann

The Caenorhabditis elegans genome contains three rac-like genes, ced-10, mig-2, and rac-2. We report that ced-10, mig-2 and rac-2 act redundantly in axon pathfinding: inactivating one gene had little effect, but inactivating two or more genes perturbed both axon outgrowth and guidance. mig-2 and ced-10 also have redundant functions in some cell migrations. By contrast, ced-10 is uniquely required for cell-corpse phagocytosis, and mig-2 and rac-2 have only subtle roles in this process. Rac activators are also used differentially. The UNC-73 Trio Rac GTP exchange factor affected all Rac pathways in axon pathfinding and cell migration but did not affect cell-corpse phagocytosis. CED-5 DOCK180, which acts with CED-10 Rac in cell-corpse phagocytosis, acted with MIG-2 but not CED-10 in axon pathfinding. Thus, distinct regulatory proteins modulate Rac activation and function in different developmental processes.

2006 ◽  
Vol 289 (1) ◽  
pp. 229-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Y. Zinovyeva ◽  
Serena M. Graham ◽  
Veronica J. Cloud ◽  
Wayne C. Forrester

2001 ◽  
Vol 152 (6) ◽  
pp. 1219-1232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D. Ackley ◽  
Jennifer R. Crew ◽  
Harri Elamaa ◽  
Tania Pihlajaniemi ◽  
Calvin J. Kuo ◽  
...  

Type XVIII collagen is a homotrimeric basement membrane molecule of unknown function, whose COOH-terminal NC1 domain contains endostatin (ES), a potent antiangiogenic agent. The Caenorhabditis elegans collagen XVIII homologue, cle-1, encodes three developmentally regulated protein isoforms expressed predominantly in neurons. The CLE-1 protein is found in low amounts in all basement membranes but accumulates at high levels in the nervous system. Deletion of the cle-1 NC1 domain results in viable fertile animals that display multiple cell migration and axon guidance defects. Particular defects can be rescued by ectopic expression of the NC1 domain, which is shown to be capable of forming trimers. In contrast, expression of monomeric ES does not rescue but dominantly causes cell and axon migration defects that phenocopy the NC1 deletion, suggesting that ES inhibits the promigratory activity of the NC1 domain. These results indicate that the cle-1 NC1/ES domain regulates cell and axon migrations in C. elegans.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie K. Alan ◽  
Sara Robinson ◽  
Katie Magsig ◽  
Rafael S. Demarco ◽  
Erik A. Lundquist

AbstractDuring development, neuronal cells extend an axon towards their target destination in response to a cue to form a properly functioning nervous system. Rho proteins, Ras-related small GTPases that regulate cytoskeletal organization and dynamics, cell adhesion, and motility, are known to regulate axon guidance. Despite extensive knowledge about canonical Rho proteins (RhoA/Rac1/Cdc42), little is known about the Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) atypical Cdc42-like family members CHW-1 and CRP-1 in regards to axon pathfinding and neuronal migration. chw-1(Chp/Wrch) encodes a protein that resembles human Chp (Wrch-2/RhoV) and Wrch-1 (RhoU), and crp-1 encodes for a protein that resembles TC10 and TCL. Here, we show that chw-1 works redundantly with crp-1 and cdc-42 in axon guidance. Furthermore, proper levels of chw-1 expression and activity are required for proper axon guidance. When examining CHW-1 GTPase mutants, we found that the native CHW-1 protein is likely partially activated, and mutations at a conserved residue (position 12 using Ras numbering, position 18 in CHW-1) alter axon guidance and neural migration. Additionally, we showed that chw-1 genetically interacts with the guidance receptor sax-3 in PDE neurons. Finally, in VD/DD motor neurons, chw-1 works downstream of sax-3 to control axon guidance. In summary, this is the first study implicating the atypical Rho GTPases chw-1 and crp-1 in axon guidance. Furthermore, this is the first evidence of genetic interaction between chw-1 and the guidance receptor sax-3. These data suggest that chw-1 is likely acting downstream and/or in parallel to sax-3 in axon guidance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (16) ◽  
pp. 9019-9036
Author(s):  
Sylvain Lemeille ◽  
Marie Paschaki ◽  
Dominique Baas ◽  
Laurette Morlé ◽  
Jean-Luc Duteyrat ◽  
...  

Abstract Cilia assembly is under strict transcriptional control during animal development. In vertebrates, a hierarchy of transcription factors (TFs) are involved in controlling the specification, differentiation and function of multiciliated epithelia. RFX TFs play key functions in the control of ciliogenesis in animals. Whereas only one RFX factor regulates ciliogenesis in C. elegans, several distinct RFX factors have been implicated in this process in vertebrates. However, a clear understanding of the specific and redundant functions of different RFX factors in ciliated cells remains lacking. Using RNA-seq and ChIP-seq approaches we identified genes regulated directly and indirectly by RFX1, RFX2 and RFX3 in mouse ependymal cells. We show that these three TFs have both redundant and specific functions in ependymal cells. Whereas RFX1, RFX2 and RFX3 occupy many shared genomic loci, only RFX2 and RFX3 play a prominent and redundant function in the control of motile ciliogenesis in mice. Our results provide a valuable list of candidate ciliary genes. They also reveal stunning differences between compensatory processes operating in vivo and ex vivo.


2017 ◽  
Vol 428 (1) ◽  
pp. 215-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dou Wu ◽  
Yongping Chai ◽  
Zhiwen Zhu ◽  
Wenjing Li ◽  
Guangshuo Ou ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (13) ◽  
pp. 2071-2083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Xu ◽  
Yubing Liu ◽  
Liyuan Zhao ◽  
Qiwen Gan ◽  
Xiaochen Wang ◽  
...  

During programmed cell death, the clearance of apoptotic cells is achieved by their phagocytosis and delivery to lysosomes for destruction in engulfing cells. However, the role of lysosomal proteases in cell corpse destruction is not understood. Here we report the identification of the lysosomal cathepsin CPL-1 as an indispensable protease for apoptotic cell removal in Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that loss of cpl-1 function leads to strong accumulation of germ cell corpses, which results from a failure in degradation rather than engulfment. CPL-1 is expressed in a variety of cell types, including engulfment cells, and its mutation does not affect the maturation of cell corpse–containing phagosomes, including phagosomal recruitment of maturation effectors and phagosome acidification. Of importance, we find that phagosomal recruitment and incorporation of CPL-1 occurs before digestion of cell corpses, which depends on factors required for phagolysosome formation. Using RNA interference, we further examine the role of other candidate lysosomal proteases in cell corpse clearance but find that they do not obviously affect this process. Collectively, these findings establish CPL-1 as the leading lysosomal protease required for elimination of apoptotic cells in C. elegans.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
pp. 2124-2134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle C. Becker ◽  
Inga Scheller ◽  
Lou M. Wackerbarth ◽  
Sarah Beck ◽  
Tobias Heib ◽  
...  

Abstract Rearrangements of the microtubule (MT) and actin cytoskeleton are pivotal for platelet biogenesis. Hence, defects in actin- or MT-regulatory proteins are associated with platelet disorders in humans and mice. Previous studies in mice revealed that loss of the actin-depolymerizing factor homology (ADF-H) protein Cofilin1 (Cof1) in megakaryocytes (MKs) results in a moderate macrothrombocytopenia but normal MK numbers, whereas deficiency in another ADF-H protein, Twinfilin1 (Twf1), does not affect platelet production or function. However, recent studies in yeast have indicated a critical synergism between Twf1 and Cof1 in the regulation of actin dynamics. We therefore investigated platelet biogenesis and function in mice lacking both Twf1 and Cof1 in the MK lineage. In contrast to single deficiency in either protein, Twf1/Cof1 double deficiency (DKO) resulted in a severe macrothrombocytopenia and dramatically increased MK numbers in bone marrow and spleen. DKO MKs exhibited defective proplatelet formation in vitro and in vivo as well as impaired spreading and altered assembly of podosome-like structures on collagen and fibrinogen in vitro. These defects were associated with aberrant F-actin accumulation and, remarkably, the formation of hyperstable MT, which appears to be caused by dysregulation of the actin- and MT-binding proteins mDia1 and adenomatous polyposis coli. Surprisingly, the mild functional defects described for Cof1-deficient platelets were only slightly aggravated in DKO platelets suggesting that both proteins are largely dispensable for platelet function in the peripheral blood. In summary, these findings reveal critical redundant functions of Cof1 and Twf1 in ensuring balanced actin/microtubule crosstalk during thrombopoiesis in mice and possibly humans.


2008 ◽  
Vol 180 (1) ◽  
pp. 233-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuelin Wang ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Thomas Cheever ◽  
Valentin Schwarz ◽  
Karla Opperman ◽  
...  

The L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) participates in neuronal development. Mutations in the human L1 gene can cause the neurological disorder CRASH (corpus callosum hypoplasia, retardation, adducted thumbs, spastic paraplegia, and hydrocephalus). This study presents genetic data that shows that L1-like adhesion gene 2 (LAD-2), a Caenorhabditis elegans L1CAM, functions in axon pathfinding. In the SDQL neuron, LAD-2 mediates dorsal axon guidance via the secreted MAB-20/Sema2 and PLX-2 plexin receptor, the functions of which have largely been characterized in epidermal morphogenesis. We use targeted misexpression experiments to provide in vivo evidence that MAB-20/Sema2 acts as a repellent to SDQL. Coimmunoprecipitation assays reveal that MAB-20 weakly interacts with PLX-2; this interaction is increased in the presence of LAD-2, which can interact independently with MAB-20 and PLX-2. These results suggest that LAD-2 functions as a MAB-20 coreceptor to secure MAB-20 coupling to PLX-2. In vertebrates, L1 binds neuropilin1, the obligate receptor to the secreted Sema3A. However, invertebrates lack neuropilins. LAD-2 may thus function in the semaphorin complex by combining the roles of neuropilins and L1CAMs.


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