JCB logo
amgmicro.com
  Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search | Table of Contents
Published online
doi:10.1083/jcb.200708130
The Journal of Cell Biology, Vol. 180, No. 2, 357-373
The Rockefeller University Press, 0021-9525 $30.00
© Mangahas et al.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF, 4700K)
Right arrow PPT slides of all figures
Right arrow Supplemental Material Index
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new content in the JCB
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mangahas, P. M.
Right arrow Articles by Zhou, Z.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Mangahas, P. M.
Right arrow Articles by Zhou, Z.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Article

The small GTPase Rab2 functions in the removal of apoptotic cells in Caenorhabditis elegans



Paolo M. Mangahas1, Xiaomeng Yu2, Kenneth G. Miller3, and Zheng Zhou1,2

1 Program in Developmental Biology and 2 Verna and Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030
3 Program in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK 73104

Correspondence to Z. Zhou: zhengz{at}bcm.tmc.edu

We identify here a novel class of loss-of-function alleles of uncoordinated locomotion(unc)-108, which encodes the Caenorhabditis elegans homologue of the mammalian small guanosine triphosphatase Rab2. Like the previously isolated dominant-negative mutants, unc-108 loss-of-function mutant animals are defective in locomotion. In addition, they display unique defects in the removal of apoptotic cells, revealing a previously uncharacterized function for Rab2. unc-108 acts in neurons and engulfing cells to control locomotion and cell corpse removal, respectively, indicating that unc-108 has distinct functions in different cell types. Using time-lapse microscopy, we find that unc-108 promotes the degradation of engulfed cell corpses. It is required for the efficient recruitment and fusion of lysosomes to phagosomes and the acidification of the phagosomal lumen. In engulfing cells, UNC-108 is enriched on the surface of phagosomes. We propose that UNC-108 acts on phagosomal surfaces to promote phagosome maturation and suggest that mammalian Rab2 may have a similar function in the degradation of apoptotic cells.

Abbreviations used in this paper: Ced, cell death abnormal; DIC, differential interference contrast; DYN-1, dynamin 1; HGRS-1, hepatocyte growth factor–regulated tyrosine kinase substrate; mRFP1, monomeric RFP 1; PI(3)P, phosphatidylinositol-3-monophosphate; TEM, transmission EM; Unc, uncoordinated locomotion.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:



  Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search | Table of Contents