Centre for Cancer Biology, University of South Australia and SA Pathology, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
SA Pathology, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
J Clin Invest. 2020 Jun 1;130(6):3315-3328. doi: 10.1172/JCI99027.
The atypical cadherin FAT4 has established roles in the regulation of planar cell polarity and Hippo pathway signaling that are cell context dependent. The recent identification of FAT4 mutations in Hennekam syndrome, features of which include lymphedema, lymphangiectasia, and mental retardation, uncovered an important role for FAT4 in the lymphatic vasculature. Hennekam syndrome is also caused by mutations in collagen and calcium binding EGF domains 1 (CCBE1) and ADAM metallopeptidase with thrombospondin type 1 motif 3 (ADAMTS3), encoding a matrix protein and protease, respectively, that regulate activity of the key prolymphangiogenic VEGF-C/VEGFR3 signaling axis by facilitating the proteolytic cleavage and activation of VEGF-C. The fact that FAT4, CCBE1, and ADAMTS3 mutations underlie Hennekam syndrome suggested that all 3 genes might function in a common pathway. We identified FAT4 as a target gene of GATA-binding protein 2 (GATA2), a key transcriptional regulator of lymphatic vascular development and, in particular, lymphatic vessel valve development. Here, we demonstrate that FAT4 functions in a lymphatic endothelial cell-autonomous manner to control cell polarity in response to flow and is required for lymphatic vessel morphogenesis throughout development. Our data reveal a crucial role for FAT4 in lymphangiogenesis and shed light on the mechanistic basis by which FAT4 mutations underlie a human lymphedema syndrome.
非典型钙黏蛋白 FAT4 在调节平面细胞极性和 Hippo 通路信号方面具有重要作用,但其作用依赖于细胞环境。最近在 Hennekam 综合征中发现了 FAT4 突变,其特征包括淋巴水肿、淋巴管扩张和智力迟钝,这揭示了 FAT4 在淋巴管中的重要作用。Hennekam 综合征也由胶原蛋白和钙结合 EGF 结构域 1(CCBE1)和 ADAM 金属肽酶与血栓形成素 1 基序 3(ADAMTS3)突变引起,分别编码一种基质蛋白和蛋白酶,它们通过促进 VEGF-C 的蛋白水解切割和激活来调节关键的脯氨酰淋巴管生成 VEGF-C/VEGFR3 信号轴的活性。FAT4、CCBE1 和 ADAMTS3 突变导致 Hennekam 综合征的事实表明,这 3 个基因可能在共同的途径中发挥作用。我们鉴定出 FAT4 是 GATA 结合蛋白 2(GATA2)的靶基因,GATA2 是淋巴管生成和特别是淋巴管瓣膜发育的关键转录调节因子。在这里,我们证明 FAT4 以淋巴管内皮细胞自主的方式发挥作用,以响应流动控制细胞极性,并且是整个发育过程中淋巴管形态发生所必需的。我们的数据揭示了 FAT4 在淋巴管生成中的关键作用,并阐明了 FAT4 突变导致人类淋巴水肿综合征的机制基础。