N‐Cadherin Regulates Cell Migration Through a Rab5‐Dependent Temporal Control of Macropinocytosis

Macropinocytosis is a clathrin‐independent endocytic pathway implicated in fluid uptake, pathogen invasion and cell migration. During collective cell migration, macropinocytosis occurs primarily at membrane ruffles arising from the leading edges of migrating cells. We report here that N‐cadherin (Ncad) regulates the tempo of macropinocytosis and thereby influences wound‐induced collective cell migration. Using live‐cell and super‐resolution imaging techniques, we observed that Ncad formed clusters at the membrane ruffles and macropinosomes. De‐clustering of Ncad by an interfering antibody impaired the recruitment of Rab5‐an early endosomal marker‐to the macropinosomes. Moreover, we demonstrated that Ncad interacts with Rab5, and laser ablation of Ncad caused Rab5 to dissociate from the macropinosomes. Although Rab5 detached from macropinosomes upon the de‐clustering of Ncad, the recruitment of late endosomal marker Rab7 occurred earlier. Consequently, both centripetal trafficking of macropinosomes and collective migration were accelerated due to de‐clustering of Ncad. Thus, our results suggest that Ncad is involved in the maturation of macropinocytosis through Rab5 recruitment, linking macropinocytosis and cell migration through a novel function of Ncad.      

Embryonic morphogenesis signaling pathway mediated by JNK targets the transcription factor JUN and the TGF-β homologue decapentaplegic

The dorsal surface of the Drosophila embryo is formed by the migration of the lateral epithelial cells to cover the amnioserosa. The Drosophila cJun-N-terminal kinase (DJNK) is essential for this process. Mutations in DJNK or the DJNK activator hemipterous (HEP) lead to incomplete dorsal closure, resulting in a hole in the dorsal cuticle. The molecules downstream of DJNK in this signaling pathway have not been established. Here we demonstrate that the basket1 (bsk1) mutation of DJNK causes decreased interaction with DJUN. Expression of decapentaplegic (DPP), a TGF-β homologue, in the leading edge of the dorsal epithelium, is identified as a genetic target of the JNK pathway. A constitutive allele of JUN is able to rescue the dorsal closure defect of bsk1 and restores DPP expression. Furthermore, ectopic DPP rescues the defects in dorsal closure caused by bsk1. These data indicate that the interaction of DJNK with DJUN contributes to the dorsal closure signaling pathway and targets DPP expression. J. Cell. Biochem. 67:1–12, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Programmed cell death is required for palate shelf fusion and is regulated by retinoic acid

Efficient wound healing including clotting and subsequent reepithelization is essential for animals ranging from insects to mammals to recover from epithelial injury. It is likely that genes involved in wound healing are conserved through the phylogeny and therefore, Drosophila may be an useful in vivo model system to identify genes necessary during this process. Furthermore, epithelial movement during specific developmental processes, such as dorsal closure, ressembles of those seen in mammalian wound healing. As puckered (puc) gene is a target of the JUN N-terminal kinase signaling pathway during dorsal closure, we investigated puc gene expression during wound healing in Drosophila. We showed that puc gene expression is induced at the edge of the wound in epithelial cells and Jun kinase is phosphorylated in wounded epidermal tissues, suggesting that the JUN N-terminal kinase signaling pathway is activated by a signal produced by an epidermal wound. In the absence of the Drosophila c-Fos homologue, puc gene expression is no longer induced. Finally, impaired epithelial repair in JUN N-terminal kinase deficient flies demonstrates that the JUN N-terminal kinase signaling is required to initiate the cell shape change at the onset of the epithelial wound healing. We conclude that the embryonic JUN N-terminal kinase gene cassette is induced at the edge of the wound. In addition, Drosophila appears as a good in vivo model to study morphogenetic processes requiring epithelial regeneration such as wound healing in vertebrates.     

Jun N‐terminal kinase activity is required for invagination but not differentiation of the sea urchin archenteron

Although sea urchin gastrulation is well described at the cellular level, our understanding of the molecular changes that trigger the coordinated cell movements involved is not complete. Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) is a component of the planar cell polarity pathway and is required for cell movements during embryonic development in several animal species. To study the role of JNK in sea urchin gastrulation, embryos were treated with JNK inhibitor SP600125 just prior to gastrulation. The inhibitor had a limited and specific effect, blocking invagination of the archenteron. Embryos treated with 2 μM SP600125 formed normal vegetal plates, but did not undergo invagination to form an archenteron. Other types of cell movements, specifically ingression of the skeletogenic mesenchyme, were not affected, although the development and pattern of the skeleton was abnormal in treated embryos. Pigment cells, derived from nonskeletogenic mesenchyme, were also present in SP600125‐treated embryos. Despite the lack of a visible archenteron in treated embryos, cells at the original vegetal plate expressed several molecular markers for endoderm differentiation. These results demonstrate that JNK activity is required for invagination of the archenteron but not its differentiation, indicating that in this case, morphogenesis and differentiation are under separate regulation. genesis 53:762–769, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

TGF-β receptor expression on human keratinocytes: A 150 kDa GPI-anchored TGF-β1 binding protein forms a heteromeric complex with type I and type II receptors

Keratinocytes play a critical role in re-epithelialization during wound healing, and alterations in keratinocyte proliferation and function are associated with the development of various skin diseases. Although it is well documented that TGF-β has profound effects on keratinocyte growth and function, there is a paucity of information on the types, isoform specificity and complex formation of TGF-β receptors on keratinocytes. Here, we report that in addition to the types I, II, and III TGF-β receptors, early passage adult and neonatal human keratinocytes display a cell surface glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored 150 kDa TGF-β1 binding protein. The identities of the four proteins were confirmed on the basis of their affinity for TGF-β isoforms, immunoprecipitation with specific anti-receptor antibodies, sensitivity to phosphatidylinositol specific phospholipase C and dithiothreitol, and 2-dimensional electrophoresis. Interestingly, the antitype I TGF-β receptor antibody immunoprecipitated not only the type I receptor, but also the type II receptor and the 150 kDa component, suggesting that the 150 kDa component form heteromeric complexes with the signalling receptors. In addition, two-dimensional (nonreducing/reducing) electrophoresis confirmed the occurrence of a heterotrimeric complex consisting of the 150 kDa TGF-β1 binding protein, the type II receptor, and the type I receptor. This technique also demonstrated the occurrence of types I and II heterodimers and type I homodimers of TGF-β receptors on keratinocytes, supporting the heterotetrameric model of TGF-β signalling proposed using mutant cells and cells transfected to overexpress these receptors. The keratinocytes responded to TGF-β by markedly downregulating all four TGF-β binding proteins and by potently inhibiting DNA synthesis. The demonstration that the 150 kDa GPI-anchored TGF-β1 binding protein forms a heteromeric complex with the TGF-β signalling receptors suggests that this GPI-anchored protein may modify TGF-β signalling in human keratinocytes. J. Cell. Biochem. 70:573–586, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Unravelling the distinct contribution of cell shape changes and cell intercalation to tissue morphogenesis: the case of the Drosophila trachea

Intercalation allows cells to exchange positions in a spatially oriented manner in an array of diverse processes, spanning convergent extension in embryonic gastrulation to the formation of tubular organs. However, given the co-occurrence of cell intercalation and changes in cell shape, it is sometimes difficult to ascertain their respective contribution to morphogenesis. A well-established model to analyse intercalation, particularly in tubular organs, is the Drosophila tracheal system. There, fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signalling at the tip of the dorsal branches generates a ‘pulling’ force believed to promote cell elongation and cell intercalation, which account for the final branch extension. Here, we used a variety of experimental conditions to study the contribution of cell elongation and cell intercalation to morphogenesis and analysed their mutual requirements. We provide evidence that cell intercalation does not require cell elongation and vice versa. We also show that the two cell behaviours are controlled by independent but simultaneous mechanisms, and that cell elongation is sufficient to account for full extension of the dorsal branch, while cell intercalation has a specific role in setting the diameter of this structure. Thus, rather than viewing changes in cell shape and cell intercalation as just redundant events that add robustness to a given morphogenetic process, we find that they can also act by contributing to different features of tissue architecture.     

The Nogo‐B receptor promotes human hepatocellular carcinoma cell growth via the Akt signal pathway

Nogo‐B receptor (NgBR) is a type I receptor with a single transmembrane domain and specifically binds to ligand Nogo‐B. A previous study demonstrated that NgBR was highly expressed in human breast invasive ductal carcinoma and promoted epithelial‐mesenchymal transition in breast tumor cells. Our recent work found that NgBR expression was associated with a poor prognosis in human patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we elucidate that the increased expression of NgBR contributes toward the increased cell growth of human HCC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Cell viability and clonogenic survival analysis results demonstrated that knockdown of NgBR inhibits the cell growth in human HCC cells, which correlates with a reduction in the phosphorylation of Akt levels. Furthermore, overexpression of NgBR by the cotransfected pIRES‐NgBR plasmid together with NgBR siRNA in human HCC cells can rescue impaired phosphorylation of Akt levels in NgBR knockdown human HCC cells. In addition, cell viability analyses showed that NgBR overexpression can rescue the cell growth inhibition presented in human HCC NgBR knockdown cells. Taken together, our results suggest that NgBR potentially acts as an oncogene in HCC by increasing Akt activity. Thus, NgBR may represent a new potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for the treatment of HCC.     

Involvement of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase and extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1/2 in EGF‐induced angiogenesis

Angiogenesis is a process during which endothelial cells divide and migrate to form new capillaries from the preexisting blood vessels. The present study was designed to investigate whether MAPKs (mitogen‐activated protein kinases) play crucial roles in regulating EGF (epidermal growth factor)‐induced endothelial cell angiogenesis. Our results showed that EGF stimulated HUVEC (human umbilical vein endothelial cells) proliferation in a concentration‐dependent manner, of which the maximum effective concentration of EGF was 10 ng/ml. Western blot analysis showed that EGF at 10 ng/ml significantly induced the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 (extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1 and 2) and p38 kinase at 5 min, while it induced the phosphorylation of JNK/SAPK (c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase/stress‐activated protein kinase) at 15 min. Further results showed that a JNK/SAPK inhibitor, SP600125, and a specific siRNA JNK/SAPK could both significantly inhibit EGF‐induced tube formation in HUVEC cells, and an ERK1/2 inhibitor PD098059 could also block the tube formation in some content, while a p38 inhibitor SB203580 failed to do so. Furthermore, only SP600125 significantly inhibited EGF‐induced HUVEC cell proliferation under no cytotoxic concentration, so did JNK/SAPK siRNA. In conclusion, JNK/SAPK and ERK1/2 signals therefore play critical roles in EGF‐mediated HUVEC cell angiogenesis.     

A feedback loop between lamellipodial extension and HGF-ERK signaling specifies leader cells during collective cell migration

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