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Prickle and Strabismus form a functional complex to generate a correct axis during planar cell polarity signaling
Andreas Jenny1, Rachel S Darken, Paul A Wilson
1Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Brookdale Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, 1 Gustave L.Levy Place, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Abstract:
Frizzled (Fz) signaling regulates the establishment of planar cell polarity (PCP). The PCP genes prickle (pk) and strabismus (stbm) are thought to antagonize Fz signaling. We show that they act in the same cell, R4, adjacent to that in which the Fz/PCP pathway is required in the Drosophila eye. We demonstrate that Stbm and Pk interact physically and that Stbm recruits Pk to the cell membrane. Through this interaction, Pk affects Stbm membrane localization and can cause clustering of Stbm. Pk is also known to interact with Dsh and is thought to antagonize Dsh by affecting its membrane localization. Thus our data suggest that the Stbm/Pk complex modulates Fz/Dsh activity, resulting in a symmetry-breaking step during polarity signaling.
Insights
Planar cell polarity (PCP) genes prickle (Pk) and strabismus (Stbm) physically interact and localize to the cell membrane. This Stbm/Pk complex modulates Frizzled/Dishevelled signaling, crucial for symmetry breaking in Drosophila eye development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Signaling
- Genetics
Background:
- Planar cell polarity (PCP) pathways establish tissue polarity.
- Frizzled (Fz) signaling is central to PCP.
- Prickle (Pk) and strabismus (Stbm) are PCP genes proposed to antagonize Fz signaling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interaction and cellular localization of Pk and Stbm.
- To elucidate the role of the Pk/Stbm complex in Frizzled/Dishevelled (Dsh) signaling.
- To understand the mechanism by which Pk and Stbm contribute to symmetry breaking in Drosophila eye development.
Main Methods:
- Co-immunoprecipitation to assess physical interactions between Stbm and Pk.
- Confocal microscopy to visualize protein localization at the cell membrane.
- Analysis of gene function in Drosophila eye development.
Main Results:
- Stbm and Pk interact physically and co-localize at the cell membrane.
- Stbm recruits Pk to the membrane, affecting Stbm localization and clustering.
- The Stbm/Pk complex appears to modulate Fz/Dsh pathway activity.
Conclusions:
- Pk and Stbm function within the same cell to regulate PCP.
- The Stbm/Pk complex plays a key role in modulating Fz/Dsh signaling.
- This interaction is critical for the symmetry-breaking step in Drosophila polarity signaling.