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First published online May 23, 2006

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Talin(t) for tracheal branching

Although the formation of the Drosophila tracheal system is partly understood, little is known about how the terminal branches of this network of epithelial tubes are maintained. Levi, Ghabrial and Krasnow now reveal that integrin-talin adhesion complexes maintain these branches and their luminal organization (see p. 2383). Tracheal terminal cells form hollow terminal branches, which adhere tightly to target tissues to supply them with oxygen. In a genetic screen, the researchers isolated tendrils mutants, which have fewer than normal terminal tracheal branches that contain multiple, convoluted lumens. This phenotype arises late in development from loss of branches but not their lumens and is caused by mutations in the gene encoding talin, which links integrin cell-adhesion molecules to the cytoskeleton. Terminal cells mutant for Drosophila ß-integrins also show the tendrils phenotype. The researchers conclude that integrin-talin adhesion complexes anchor mature terminal branches to their target tissues and also maintain their luminal organization. Similar complexes, they suggest, may stabilize other tubular networks.

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Related articles in Development:

Drosophila talin and integrin genes are required for maintenance of tracheal terminal branches and luminal organization

Boaz P. Levi, Amin S. Ghabrial, and Mark A. Krasnow
Development 2006 133: 2383-2393. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?