Tepass U, Theres C, Knust E
Institut für Entwicklungsphysiologie, Universität zu Köln, Federal Republic of Germany.
Cell. 1990 Jun 1;61(5):787-99. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90189-l.
We describe the molecular characterization of the Drosophila gene crumbs, which encodes an integral membrane protein with 30 EGF-like repeats in the extracellular part and exhibits a striking expression pattern. The protein is exclusively localized on the apical membranes of epithelial cells and concentrated at the borders between cells. Mutations in crumbs lead to severe disruptions in the organization of ectodermally derived epithelia and in some cases to cell death in these tissues. The structure and the expression pattern of the protein and the phenotype of mutations indicate a function of crumbs during the development of epithelia, possibly for the establishment and/or maintenance of cell polarity.
我们描述了果蝇基因crumbs的分子特征，该基因编码一种整合膜蛋白，其胞外部分有30个表皮生长因子（EGF）样重复序列，并呈现出显著的表达模式。该蛋白仅定位于上皮细胞的顶端膜，并集中在细胞间边界处。crumbs基因的突变导致外胚层来源上皮组织的组织结构严重破坏，在某些情况下还导致这些组织中的细胞死亡。该蛋白的结构、表达模式以及突变表型表明crumbs在上皮组织发育过程中发挥作用，可能与细胞极性的建立和/或维持有关。
