Liro Małgorzata J, Rose Lesilee S
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California Davis, California 95616.
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California Davis, California 95616
Genetics. 2016 Nov;204(3):1177-1189. doi: 10.1534/genetics.116.192831. Epub 2016 Sep 26.
Asymmetric divisions produce daughter cells with different fates, and thus are critical for animal development. During asymmetric divisions, the mitotic spindle must be positioned on a polarized axis to ensure the differential segregation of cell fate determinants into the daughter cells. In many cell types, a cortically localized complex consisting of Gα, GPR-1/2, and LIN-5 (Gαi/Pins/Mud, Gαi/LGN/NuMA) mediates the recruitment of dynactin/dynein, which exerts pulling forces on astral microtubules to physically position the spindle. The conserved PAR polarity proteins are known to regulate both cytoplasmic asymmetry and spindle positioning in many cases. However, spindle positioning also occurs in response to cell signaling cues that appear to be PAR-independent. In the four-cell Caenorhabditis elegans embryo, Wnt and Mes-1/Src-1 signaling pathways act partially redundantly to align the spindle on the anterior/posterior axis of the endomesodermal (EMS) precursor cell. It is unclear how those extrinsic signals individually contribute to spindle positioning and whether either pathway acts via conserved spindle positioning regulators. Here, we genetically test the involvement of Gα, LIN-5, and their negative regulator LET-99, in transducing EMS spindle positioning polarity cues. We also examined whether the C. elegans ortholog of another spindle positioning regulator, DLG-1, is required. We show that LET-99 acts in the Mes-1/Src-1 pathway for spindle positioning. LIN-5 is also required for EMS spindle positioning, possibly through a Gα- and DLG-1-independent mechanism.
不对称分裂产生具有不同命运的子细胞,因此对动物发育至关重要。在不对称分裂过程中,有丝分裂纺锤体必须定位在极化轴上,以确保细胞命运决定因子向子细胞的差异性分离。在许多细胞类型中,一种由Gα、GPR-1/2和LIN-5组成的皮质定位复合物(Gαi/Pins/Mud,Gαi/LGN/NuMA)介导动力蛋白激活蛋白/动力蛋白的募集,其对星状微管施加拉力以物理定位纺锤体。已知保守的PAR极性蛋白在许多情况下调节细胞质不对称性和纺锤体定位。然而,纺锤体定位也会响应似乎与PAR无关的细胞信号线索而发生。在四细胞期秀丽隐杆线虫胚胎中,Wnt和Mes-1/Src-1信号通路部分冗余地作用,以使纺锤体在内胚层中胚层(EMS)前体细胞的前后轴上对齐。尚不清楚这些外在信号如何分别促成纺锤体定位,以及是否有任何一条通路通过保守的纺锤体定位调节因子起作用。在这里,我们通过遗传学方法测试Gα、LIN-5及其负调节因子LET-99在转导EMS纺锤体定位极性线索中的作用。我们还研究了另一种纺锤体定位调节因子DLG-1的秀丽隐杆线虫直系同源物是否是必需的。我们表明LET-99在Mes-1/Src-1通路中参与纺锤体定位。LIN-5对于EMS纺锤体定位也是必需的,可能通过一种不依赖Gα和DLG-1的机制。