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First published online May 9, 2008

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Endocytosis: shaping the Gurken gradient

In the Drosophila ovary, different levels of Egfr signalling establish the axis of the egg and the future embryo. A dorsal-ventral gradient of the morphogen Gurken, an Egfr ligand, is thought to control Egfr activation; but what is the precise shape of this gradient and how is it regulated? Using a horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-Gurken fusion protein, Chang and colleagues now report that the gradient of Gurken is directly regulated by Cbl, a protein that downregulates Egfr signalling by mediating its endocytosis (see p. 1923). They show that HRP-Gurken is internalised with Egfr into follicle cells and passes through the Rab5/7-associated endocytic pathway to the lysosome for degradation. Loss-of-function and overexpression studies show that Cbl facilitates this internalisation. Finally, the researchers show for the first time that the Gurken gradient extends from its source at the anterior/dorsal side of the egg to the ventral follicle cells, which suggests that Gurken is a long-range morphogen that directly determines the fate of these cells.

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The gradient of Gurken, a long-range morphogen, is directly regulated by Cbl-mediated endocytosis

Wei-Ling Chang, Willisa Liou, Hsiao-Chung Pen, He-Yen Chou, Yu-Wei Chang, Wei-How Li, Wei Chiang, and Li-Mei Pai
Development 2008 135: 1923-1933. [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?