title: UNC-6 (netrin) orients the invasive membrane of the anchor cell in C. elegans.
abstract: Despite their profound importance in the development of cancer, the extracellular cues that target cell invasion through basement membrane barriers remain poorly understood. A central obstacle has been the difficulty of studying the interactions between invading cells and basement membranes in vivo. Using the genetically and visually tractable model of Caenorhabditis elegans anchor cell (AC) invasion, we show that UNC-6 (netrin) signalling, a pathway not previously implicated in controlling cell invasion in vivo, is a key regulator of this process. Site of action studies reveal that before invasion, localized UNC-6 secretion directs its receptor, UNC-40, to the plasma membrane of the AC, in contact with the basement membrane. There, UNC-40 polarizes a specialized invasive membrane domain through the enrichment of actin regulators, F-actin and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns(4,5)P(2)). Cell ablation experiments indicate that UNC-6 promotes the formation of invasive protrusions from the AC that break down the basement membrane in response to a subsequent vulval cue. Together, these results characterize an invasive membrane domain in vivo, and reveal a role for UNC-6 (netrin) in polarizing this domain towards its basement membrane target.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
authors.forename: Joshua W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Ziel
authors.forename: Elliott J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Hagedorn
authors.forename: Anjon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Audhya
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Sherwood
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016764:Cell Polarity / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005836:Genitalia, Female / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D023421:Models, Animal; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000503:physiopathology; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000075385:Netrins; D019269:Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-Diphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D000075385:Netrins; D019269:Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-Diphosphate; C102174:UNC-40 protein, C elegans; C078146:UNC-6 protein, C elegans