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Updated: Oct 25, 2025

Transfer of Mammary Gland-forming Ability Between Mammary Basal Epithelial Cells and Mammary Luminal Cells via Extracellular Vesicles/Exosomes
Published on: June 3, 2017
An apocrine mechanism delivers a fully immunocompetent exocrine secretion
Denisa Beňová-Liszeková1, Lucia Mentelová1,2, Klaudia Babišová1
1Laboratory of Developmental Genetics, Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 84505, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Abstract:
Apocrine secretion is a recently discovered widespread non-canonical and non-vesicular secretory mechanism whose regulation and purpose is only partly defined. Here, we demonstrate that apocrine secretion in the prepupal salivary glands (SGs) of Drosophila provides the sole source of immune-competent and defense-response proteins to the exuvial fluid that lies between the metamorphosing pupae and its pupal case. Genetic ablation of its delivery from the prepupal SGs to the exuvial fluid decreases the survival of pupae to microbial challenges, and the isolated apocrine secretion has strong antimicrobial effects in "agar-plate" tests. Thus, apocrine secretion provides an essential first line of defense against exogenously born infection and represents a highly specialized cellular mechanism for delivering components of innate immunity at the interface between an organism and its external environment.
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