title: The Caenorhabditis elegans vulval morphogenesis gene sqv-4 encodes a UDP-glucose dehydrogenase that is temporally and spatially regulated.
abstract: The development of the Caenorhabditis elegans vulva requires the involution of epithelial cells and provides a model for organ morphogenesis. Mutations in C. elegans sqv (squashed vulva) genes affect both vulval morphogenesis and embryonic development. We found that sqv-4 encodes a protein similar to UDP-glucose dehydrogenases and showed that the SQV-4 protein specifically catalyzes the conversion of UDP-glucose to UDP-glucuronic acid, which is essential for the biosynthesis of chondroitin and heparan sulfate proteoglycans. SQV-4 is expressed in the vulva and in oocytes, among many other cells, and SQV-4 levels are dramatically increased in a specific subset of vulval cells during vulval morphogenesis. We propose that the regulation of UDP-glucuronic acid production in a specific subset of vulval cells helps determine the shape of the vulva.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, 68-425, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Ho-Yon
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: H Robert
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Horvitz
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002452:Cell Count; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D017238:Genes, Helminth / Q000502:physiology*; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009024:Morphogenesis; D051880:Receptors, Notch; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014532:Uridine Diphosphate Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D014533:Uridine Diphosphate Glucose Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014535:Uridine Diphosphate Glucuronic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D014844:Vulva / Q000196:embryology
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C111267:Lin-11 protein, C elegans; C082460:Lin-12 protein, C elegans; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051880:Receptors, Notch; D014535:Uridine Diphosphate Glucuronic Acid; C468930:SQV-4 protein, C elegans; D014533:Uridine Diphosphate Glucose Dehydrogenase; D014532:Uridine Diphosphate Glucose