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The C. elegans Intestine As a Model for Intercellular Lumen Morphogenesis and In Vivo Polarized Membrane Biogenesis at the Single-cell Level: Labeling by Antibody Staining, RNAi Loss-of-function Analysis and Imaging
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Human CED-6 encodes a functional homologue of the Caenorhabditis elegans engulfment protein CED-6

Q A Liu1, M O Hengartner

  • 1Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Laboratory of Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institute of Health, Cold Spring Harbor, Bethesda, 11724, 20892, USA.

Current Biology : CB
|November 27, 1999
PubMed

Insights

Scientists identified a human protein, hCED-6, that functions similarly to a C. elegans protein in clearing apoptotic cells. This discovery suggests a conserved pathway for cell corpse removal across species.

Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Immunology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Apoptotic cell engulfment is a crucial innate immune process for tissue homeostasis.
  • Mammalian receptors for apoptotic cells are known, but downstream signaling molecules remain elusive.
  • The Caenorhabditis elegans CED-6 protein acts as an adaptor in apoptotic cell engulfment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To isolate and characterize a human homolog of the C. elegans CED-6 gene.
  • To investigate the functional conservation of CED-6 between C. elegans and humans.
  • To determine the expression pattern of human CED-6.

Main Methods:

  • Isolation and characterization of human cDNA encoding hCED-6.
  • Sequence analysis of hCED-6, identifying conserved domains (PTB, SH3 binding sites, coiled-coil).
  • Functional rescue experiments in C. elegans ced-6 mutants by overexpressing hCED-6.

Main Results:

  • A human cDNA encoding hCED-6 with significant sequence similarity to C. elegans CED-6 was identified.
  • hCED-6 possesses conserved functional domains, including a PTB domain.
  • Overexpression of hCED-6 successfully rescued the engulfment defects in C. elegans ced-6 mutants, indicating functional homology.
  • Human ced-6 is expressed broadly across most human tissues.

Conclusions:

  • hCED-6 is a functional homolog of C. elegans CED-6, suggesting conserved mechanisms for apoptotic cell engulfment.
  • The CED-6-mediated signal transduction pathway may be conserved from invertebrates to humans.
  • The widespread expression of human CED-6 implies its importance in various human tissues.

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