Candidate adaptor protein CED-6 promotes the engulfment of apoptotic cells in C. elegans.
The rapid engulfment (phagocytosis) of cells undergoing programmed cell death (apoptosis) is a fundamental biological process that is not well understood. Here we report the cloning and functional characterization of ced-6, a gene specifically required for the engulfment of apoptotic cells in the nematode C. elegans. The CED-6 protein contains a phosphotyrosine binding domain at its N terminus and a proline/serine-rich region in its C-terminal half. Genetic mosaic analysis demonstrates that ced-6 acts within engulfing cells. We also show that ced-6 can promote the engulfment of cells at both early and late stages of apoptosis. Our data suggest that CED-6 is an adaptor molecule acting in a signal transduction pathway that specifically mediates the recognition and engulfment of apoptotic cells.
Liu
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Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York 11724, USA.
Hengartner
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D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics*; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017238:Genes, Helminth / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009030:Mosaicism; D009154:Mutation; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000235:genetics*; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D019000:Phosphotyrosine / Q000378:metabolism; D018510:RNA, Helminth / Q000032:analysis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015398:Signal Transduction; D018909:src Homology Domains
D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; C112888:CED-6 protein, C elegans; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D018510:RNA, Helminth; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D019000:Phosphotyrosine