Letizia Annalisa, Llimargas Marta
Developmental Biology, Institut de Biologia Molecular de Barcelona, CSIC, Parc Científic de Barcelona Baldiri Reixac 10-12, 08028, Barcelona, Spain,
Subcell Biochem. 2012;60:251-77. doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-4186-7_11.
Drosophila represents a paradigm for the analysis of the cellular, molecular and genetic mechanisms of development and is an ideal model system to study the contribution of Adherens Junctions (AJs) and their major components, cadherins, to morphogenesis. The combination of different techniques and approaches has allowed researchers to identify the requirements of these epithelial junctions in vivo in the context of a whole organism. The functional analysis of mutants for AJ core components, particularly for Drosophila DE-cadherin, has shown that AJs play critical roles in virtually all stages of development. For instance, AJs maintain tissue integrity while allowing the remodelling and homeostasis of many tissues. They control cell shape, contribute to cell polarity, facilitate cell-cell recognition during cell sorting, orient cell divisions, or regulate cell rearrangements, among other activities. Remarkably, these activities require a very fine control of the organisation and turnover of AJs during development. In addition, AJs engage in diverse and complex interactions with the cytoskeleton, signalling networks, intracellular trafficking machinery or polarity cues to perform these functions. Here, by summarising the requirements of AJs and cadherins during Drosophila morphogenesis, we illustrate the capital contribution of this model system to our knowledge of the mechanisms and biology of AJs.
果蝇是分析发育的细胞、分子和遗传机制的范例，也是研究黏着连接（AJs）及其主要成分钙黏着蛋白对形态发生作用的理想模型系统。不同技术和方法的结合使研究人员能够在整个生物体的背景下确定这些上皮连接在体内的需求。对AJ核心成分突变体，特别是果蝇DE-钙黏着蛋白突变体的功能分析表明，AJs在几乎所有发育阶段都发挥着关键作用。例如，AJs维持组织完整性，同时允许许多组织进行重塑和稳态调节。它们控制细胞形状，有助于细胞极性，在细胞分选过程中促进细胞间识别，引导细胞分裂，或调节细胞重排等。值得注意的是，这些活动需要在发育过程中对AJs的组织和更新进行非常精细的控制。此外，AJs与细胞骨架、信号网络、细胞内运输机制或极性线索进行多样而复杂的相互作用以执行这些功能。在这里，通过总结果蝇形态发生过程中AJs和钙黏着蛋白的需求，我们阐述了这个模型系统对我们了解AJs的机制和生物学的重要贡献。
