QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online June 27, 2005
doi: 10.1242/10.1242/dev.01904

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplementary Material Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sonawane, M. Articles by Nuesslein-Volhard, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sonawane, M. Articles by Nuesslein-Volhard, C.

Zebrafish penner/lethal giant larvae 2 functions in hemidesmosome formation, maintenance of cellular morphology and growth regulation in the developing basal epidermis

¹ Max-Planck Institut für Entwicklungsbiologie, Department of Genetics, Spemannstrasse 35, Tuebingen, D-72076, Germany
² Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Animal Biotechnology Department, La Habana, CP 10 600, Cuba

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: mahendra.sonawane{at}tuebingen.mpg.de)

Accepted 13 May 2005

Epithelial cells are equipped with junctional complexes that are involved in maintaining tissue architecture, providing mechanical integrity and suppressing tumour formation as well as invasiveness. A strict spatial segregation of these junctional complexes leads to the polarisation of epithelial cells. In vertebrate epithelia, basally localised hemidesmosomes mediate stable adhesion between epithelial cells and the underlying basement membrane. Although components of hemidesmosomes are relatively well known, the molecular machinery involved in governing the formation of these robust junctions, remains elusive. Here, we have identified the first component of this machinery using a forward genetic approach in zebrafish as we show that the function of penner (pen)/lethal giant larvae 2 (lgl2) is necessary for hemidesmosome formation and maintenance of the tissue integrity in the developing basal epidermis. Moreover, in pen/lgl2 mutant, basal epidermal cells hyper-proliferate and migrate to ectopic positions. Of the two vertebrate orthologues of the Drosophila tumour suppressor gene lethal giant larvae, the function of lgl2 in vertebrate development and organogenesis remained unclear so far. Here, we have unravelled an essential function of lgl2 during development of the epidermis in vertebrates.

Key words: Epidermis, Hemidesmosomes, penner/lgl2, Cell proliferation, Zebrafish

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. R. Mathias, M. E. Dodd, K. B. Walters, J. Rhodes, J. P. Kanki, A. T. Look, and A. Huttenlocher Live imaging of chronic inflammation caused by mutation of zebrafish Hai1 J. Cell Sci., October 1, 2007; 120(19): 3372 - 3383. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. J. Carney, S. von der Hardt, C. Sonntag, A. Amsterdam, J. Topczewski, N. Hopkins, and M. Hammerschmidt Inactivation of serine protease Matriptase1a by its inhibitor Hai1 is required for epithelial integrity of the zebrafish epidermis Development, October 1, 2007; 134(19): 3461 - 3471. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Wilhelmsen, S. H.M. Litjens, and A. Sonnenberg Multiple Functions of the Integrin {alpha}6{beta}4 in Epidermal Homeostasis and Tumorigenesis Mol. Cell. Biol., April 15, 2006; 26(8): 2877 - 2886. [Full Text] [PDF]