Molecular signatures of cell migration in C. elegans Q neuroblasts.
Metazoan cell movement has been studied extensively in vitro, but cell migration in living animals is much less well understood. In this report, we have studied the Caenorhabditis elegans Q neuroblast lineage during larval development, developing live animal imaging methods for following neuroblast migration with single cell resolution. We find that each of the Q descendants migrates at different speeds and for distinct distances. By quantitative green fluorescent protein imaging, we find that Q descendants that migrate faster and longer than their sisters up-regulate protein levels of MIG-2, a Rho family guanosine triphosphatase, and/or down-regulate INA-1, an integrin alpha subunit, during migration. We also show that Q neuroblasts bearing mutations in either MIG-2 or INA-1 migrate at reduced speeds. The migration defect of the mig-2 mutants, but not ina-1, appears to result from a lack of persistent polarization in the direction of cell migration. Thus, MIG-2 and INA-1 function distinctly to control Q neuroblast migration in living C. elegans.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
Guangshuo
G
Ou
Ronald D
RD
Vale
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002465:Cell Movement; D016764:Cell Polarity; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D016023:Integrins / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation; D020744:rac GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; C521951:Ina-1 protein, C elegans; D016023:Integrins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; C442327:Mig-2 protein, C elegans; D020744:rac GTP-Binding Proteins