Cell surface proteins Nasrat and Polehole stabilize the Torso-like extracellular determinant in Drosophila oogenesis

Structural cell-surface and extracellular-matrix proteins modulate intercellular signaling events during development, but how this is achieved remains largely unknown. Here we identify a novel family of Drosophila proteins, Nasrat and Polehole, that coat the oocyte surface and play two roles: They mediate assembly of the eggshell, and act in the Torso RTK signaling pathway that specifies the terminal regions of the embryo. Nasrat and Polehole are essential for extracellular accumulation of Torso-like, a factor secreted during oogenesis that initiates Torso receptor activation. Stabilization of secreted factors by specialized pericellular proteins may be a general mechanism during signaling and developmental patterning.