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© The Rockefeller University Press, 0021-9525/2003/5/667-b $5.00
The Journal of Cell Biology, Volume 161, Number 4, 667-b-667

Coping with the stress of morphogenesis

The epidermis detaches (arrow) from the cuticle in VAB-10A mutants.

As a multicellular organism develops, its tissues are often subjected to powerful internal and external mechanical stresses. On page 757, Bosher et al. describe a set of critical reinforcements that allow C. elegans embryos to weather these forces rather than be torn apart. Besides illuminating a critical aspect of morphogenesis, the work establishes a new model for analyzing the coupling of tissues during development.

Using a genetic screen, the authors found that mutations in a locus called vab-10, which corresponds to spectraplakin, cause defects in the elongation of worm embryos. C. elegans vab-10 encodes two protein isoforms. Mutations that affect VAB-10A isoforms disrupt fibrous organelles, which are molecular and functional homologues of vertebrate hemidesmosomes. These mutations cause epidermal cells to detach from the cuticle and muscles during elongation. When VAB-10B isoforms are disrupted, the epidermis instead becomes thicker.

The results suggest that VAB-10A proteins allow epidermal cells to resist external stresses, whereas VAB-10B proteins ensure that the basal and apical membranes of the cells are locked a fixed distance apart, even in the presence of powerful internal stresses. The C. elegans system should now provide a useful platform to study how spectraplakins modulate and direct these forces.

Alan W. Dove

alanwdove{at}earthlink.net

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The Caenorhabditis elegans vab-10 spectraplakin isoforms protect the epidermis against internal and external forces

Julia M. Bosher, Bum-Soo Hahn, Renaud Legouis, Satis Sookhareea, Robby M. Weimer, Anne Gansmuller, Andrew D. Chisholm, Ann M. Rose, Jean-Louis Bessereau, and Michel Labouesse
J. Cell Biol. 2003 161: 757-768. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article Full Text (PDF, 667K) PPT slides of all figures Alert me when this article is cited Services Email this article Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new content in the JCB Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Dove, A. W. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Dove, A. W. Related Collections Related Article Social Bookmarking                            What's this?