scholarly journals Abelson kinase regulates epithelial morphogenesis in Drosophila

2001 ◽  
Vol 155 (7) ◽  
pp. 1185-1198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth E. Grevengoed ◽  
Joseph J. Loureiro ◽  
Traci L. Jesse ◽  
Mark Peifer
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Adherens Junctions ◽  
Adherens Junction ◽  
Epithelial Morphogenesis ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Nonreceptor Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Abelson Kinase ◽  
Adherens Junction Protein ◽  
Junction Protein ◽  
Guidance Receptors

Activation of the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase Abelson (Abl) contributes to the development of leukemia, but the complex roles of Abl in normal development are not fully understood. Drosophila Abl links neural axon guidance receptors to the cytoskeleton. Here we report a novel role for Drosophila Abl in epithelial cells, where it is critical for morphogenesis. Embryos completely lacking both maternal and zygotic Abl die with defects in several morphogenetic processes requiring cell shape changes and cell migration. We describe the cellular defects that underlie these problems, focusing on dorsal closure as an example. Further, we show that the Abl target Enabled (Ena), a modulator of actin dynamics, is involved with Abl in morphogenesis. We find that Ena localizes to adherens junctions of most epithelial cells, and that it genetically interacts with the adherens junction protein Armadillo (Arm) during morphogenesis. The defects of abl mutants are strongly enhanced by heterozygosity for shotgun, which encodes DE-cadherin. Finally, loss of Abl reduces Arm and α-catenin accumulation in adherens junctions, while having little or no effect on other components of the cytoskeleton or cell polarity machinery. We discuss possible models for Abl function during epithelial morphogenesis in light of these data.

scholarly journals An in vivo structure-function study of armadillo, the beta-catenin homologue, reveals both separate and overlapping regions of the protein required for cell adhesion and for wingless signaling.

1996 ◽  
Vol 134 (5) ◽  
pp. 1283-1300 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Orsulic ◽  
M Peifer
Keyword(s):  
Structure Function ◽  
Cellular Localization ◽  
Adherens Junctions ◽  
Adherens Junction ◽  
Beta Catenin ◽  
Function Study ◽  
Adherens Junction Protein ◽  
Junction Protein ◽  
Wingless Signaling

Armadillo, the Drosophila homologue of vertebrate beta-catenin, plays a pivotal role both in Wingless signaling and in assembly of adherens junctions. We performed the first in vivo structure-function study of an adherens junction protein, by generating and examining a series of Armadillo mutants in the context of the entire animal. We tested each mutant by assaying its biological function, its ability to bind proteins that normally associate with Armadillo in adherens junctions, its cellular localization, and its pattern of phosphorylation. We mapped the binding sites for DE-cadherin and alpha-catenin. Although these bind to Armadillo independently of each other, binding of each is required for the function of adherens junctions. We identified two separate regions of Armadillo critical for Wingless signaling. We demonstrated that endogenous Armadillo accumulates in the nucleus and provide evidence that it may act there in transducing Wingless signal. We found that the Arm repeats, which make up the central two-thirds of Armadillo, differ among themselves in their functional importance in different processes. Finally, we demonstrated that Armadillo's roles in adherens junctions and Wingless signaling are independent. We discuss the potential biochemical role of Armadillo in each process.

The product of the Drosophila segment polarity gene armadillo is part of a multi-protein complex resembling the vertebrate adherens junction

1993 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. 993-1000 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Peifer
Keyword(s):  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Adherens Junctions ◽  
Adherens Junction ◽  
Beta Catenin ◽  
Adherens Junction Protein ◽  
Junction Protein ◽  
Drosophila Homolog ◽  
Segment Polarity ◽  
Associated Proteins ◽  
Segment Polarity Gene

Sequence similarity between the Drosophila segment polarity protein Armadillo and the vertebrate adherens junction protein beta-catenin raised the possibility that adherens junctions function in transduction of intercellular signals like that mediated by Wingless/Wnt-1. To substantiate the sequence similarity, properties of Armadillo were evaluated for consistency with a junctional role. Armadillo is part of a membrane-associated complex. This complex includes Armadillo, a glycoprotein similar in size to vertebrate cadherins, and the Drosophila homolog of alpha-catenin. Armadillo co-localizes with junctions that resemble vertebrate adherens junctions in morphology and position. These results suggest that Drosophila and vertebrate adherens junctions are structurally similar, validating use of Armadillo and its associated proteins as a model for vertebrate adherens junctions.

Regulation of adherens junction protein p120ctnby 10 nM CCK precedes actin breakdown in rat pancreatic acini

2000 ◽  
Vol 278 (3) ◽  
pp. G486-G491 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Leser ◽  
M. F. Beil ◽  
O. A. Musa ◽  
G. Adler ◽  
M. P. Lutz
Keyword(s):  
Tyrosine Phosphorylation ◽  
Actin Filament ◽  
Adherens Junctions ◽  
Adherens Junction ◽  
Acinar Cells ◽  
Pancreatic Acini ◽  
Filament System ◽  
Adherens Junction Protein ◽  
Junction Protein ◽  
E Cadherin

The initial pathophysiological events that characterize CCK-hyperstimulation pancreatitis include the breakdown of the actin filament system and disruption of cadherin-catenin protein complexes. Cadherins and catenins are part of adherens junctions, which may act as anchor for the cellular actin filament system. We examined the composition and regulation of adherens junctions during CCK-induced acinar cell damage. Freshly isolated CCK-stimulated rat pancreatic acini were examined for actin filaments and functional adherens junctions by immunocytology and laser confocal scanning microscopy or by coprecipitation and immunoblotting for E-cadherin, β- and α-catenin, p120ctn, and phosphotyrosine. In addition to E-cadherin and β-catenin, acinar cells express the cadherin-regulatory protein p120ctn and the attachment protein α-catenin. Both colocalize and coimmunoprecipitate with E-cadherin in one complex, and all colocalize with the terminal actin web. Supramaximal secretory CCK concentrations (10 nM) initiated tyrosine phosphorylation of p120ctn but not of β-catenin within 2 min, preceding the breakdown of the terminal actin web by several minutes. Under these conditions, the cadherin-catenin association within the adherens junction complex remained intact. We describe for the first time supramaximal CCK-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of the adherens junction protein p120ctnand demonstrate the presence of an intact adherens junction protein complex in acinar cells. p120ctn may participate in the actin filament breakdown during experimental conditions mimicking pancreatitis.

scholarly journals Armadillo is required for adherens junction assembly, cell polarity, and morphogenesis during Drosophila embryogenesis.

1996 ◽  
Vol 134 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
R T Cox ◽  
C Kirkpatrick ◽  
M Peifer
Keyword(s):  
Cell Adhesion ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Cell Polarity ◽  
Adherens Junctions ◽  
Adherens Junction ◽  
Morphogenetic Movements ◽  
Junction Protein ◽  
Normal Embryonic Development ◽  
Cell Cell

Morphological and biochemical analyses have identified a set of proteins which together form a structure known as the adherens junction. Elegant experiments in tissue culture support the idea that adherens junctions play a key role in cell-cell adhesion and in organizing cells into epithelia. During normal embryonic development, cells quickly organize epithelia; these epithelial cells participate in many of the key morphogenetic movements of gastrulation. This prompted the hypothesis that adherens junctions ought to be critical for normal embryonic development. Drosophila Armadillo, the homologue of vertebrate beta-catenin, is a core component of the adherens junction protein complex and has been hypothesized to be essential for adherens junction function in vivo. We have used an intermediate mutant allele of armadillo, armadilloXP33, to test these hypotheses in Drosophila embryos. Adherens junctions cannot assemble in the absence of Armadillo, leading to dramatic defects in cell-cell adhesion. The epithelial cells of the embryo lose adhesion to each other, round up, and apparently become mesenchymal. Mutant cells also lose their normal cell polarity. These disruptions in the integrity of epithelia block the appropriate morphogenetic movements of gastrulation. These results provide the first demonstration of the effect of loss of adherens junctions on Drosophila embryonic development.

scholarly journals β-Catenin is a pH sensor with decreased stability at higher intracellular pH

2018 ◽  
Vol 217 (11) ◽  
pp. 3965-3976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine A. White ◽  
Bree K. Grillo-Hill ◽  
Mario Esquivel ◽  
Jobelle Peralta ◽  
Vivian N. Bui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intracellular Ph ◽  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Ph Sensor ◽  
Adherens Junction ◽  
Protein Protein Interactions ◽  
Adherens Junction Protein ◽  
Junction Protein ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
Ph Dependent

β-Catenin functions as an adherens junction protein for cell–cell adhesion and as a signaling protein. β-catenin function is dependent on its stability, which is regulated by protein–protein interactions that stabilize β-catenin or target it for proteasome-mediated degradation. In this study, we show that β-catenin stability is regulated by intracellular pH (pHi) dynamics, with decreased stability at higher pHi in both mammalian cells and Drosophila melanogaster. β-Catenin degradation requires phosphorylation of N-terminal residues for recognition by the E3 ligase β-TrCP. While β-catenin phosphorylation was pH independent, higher pHi induced increased β-TrCP binding and decreased β-catenin stability. An evolutionarily conserved histidine in β-catenin (found in the β-TrCP DSGIHS destruction motif) is required for pH-dependent binding to β-TrCP. Expressing a cancer-associated H36R–β-catenin mutant in the Drosophila eye was sufficient to induce Wnt signaling and produced pronounced tumors not seen with other oncogenic β-catenin alleles. We identify pHi dynamics as a previously unrecognized regulator of β-catenin stability, functioning in coincidence with phosphorylation.

scholarly journals Cross-Talk between Adherens Junctions and Desmosomes Depends on Plakoglobin

1997 ◽  
Vol 136 (4) ◽  
pp. 919-934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jani E. Lewis ◽  
James K. Wahl ◽  
Kristin M. Sass ◽  
Pamela J. Jensen ◽  
Keith R. Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Adherens Junctions ◽  
Adherens Junction ◽  
Epithelial Cell Line ◽  
Cell Contact ◽  
Common Component ◽  
Classical Cadherins ◽  
E Cadherin

Squamous epithelial cells have both adherens junctions and desmosomes. The ability of these cells to organize the desmosomal proteins into a functional structure depends upon their ability first to organize an adherens junction. Since the adherens junction and the desmosome are separate structures with different molecular make up, it is not immediately obvious why formation of an adherens junction is a prerequisite for the formation of a desmosome. The adherens junction is composed of a transmembrane classical cadherin (E-cadherin and/or P-cadherin in squamous epithelial cells) linked to either β-catenin or plakoglobin, which is linked to α-catenin, which is linked to the actin cytoskeleton. The desmosome is composed of transmembrane proteins of the broad cadherin family (desmogleins and desmocollins) that are linked to the intermediate filament cytoskeleton, presumably through plakoglobin and desmoplakin. To begin to study the role of adherens junctions in the assembly of desmosomes, we produced an epithelial cell line that does not express classical cadherins and hence is unable to organize desmosomes, even though it retains the requisite desmosomal components. Transfection of E-cadherin and/or P-cadherin into this cell line did not restore the ability to organize desmosomes; however, overexpression of plakoglobin, along with E-cadherin, did permit desmosome organization. These data suggest that plakoglobin, which is the only known common component to both adherens junctions and desmosomes, must be linked to E-cadherin in the adherens junction before the cell can begin to assemble desmosomal components at regions of cell–cell contact. Although adherens junctions can form in the absence of plakoglobin, making use only of β-catenin, such junctions cannot support the formation of desmosomes. Thus, we speculate that plakoglobin plays a signaling role in desmosome organization.

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