Navigating the cell: UNC-53 and the navigators, a family of cytoskeletal regulators with multiple roles in cell migration, outgrowth and trafficking.
Changes in cell shape are associated with a variety of processes including cell migration, axon outgrowth, cell division and vesicle trafficking. C. elegans UNC-53 and its vertebrate homologs, the Navigators, are required for the migration of cells and the outgrowth of neuronal processes. The identification of novel molecular interactions and live imaging studies have revealed that UNC-53/NAVs are signal transducers associated with actin filaments, microtubules and intermediate filaments. In addition to modulating cytoskeletal dynamics at the leading edge of migrating or outgrowing cells, both UNC-53 and the navigators are expressed in adult cells, conspicuously those with specialized roles in endocytosis or secretion. Collectively, these results suggest that UNC-53/NAVs may be a central regulator of cytoskeletal dynamics, responsible for integrating signaling cues to multiple components of the cytoskeleton to coordinate rearrangement during cell outgrowth or trafficking.
Stringham
Eve G
EG
Department of Biology, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Canada. stringha@twu.ca
Schmidt
Kristopher L
KL
D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000502:physiology; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D049108:Cell Enlargement; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000502:physiology*
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; C465016:UNC-53 protein, C elegans
Nat Cell Biol. 2007 Sep;9(9):1066-73
17704769
Nat Cell Biol. 2003 Jul;5(7):599-609
12833063
Brain Res Dev Brain Res. 2004 Jun 21;150(2):89-101
15158073
Genomics. 2002 Jul;80(1):21-30
12079279
J Neurobiol. 2000 Feb 15;42(3):370-82
10645976
Development. 2009 Feb;136(4):563-74
19168673
Genetics. 2001 Sep;159(1):133-45
11560892
Cell Motil Cytoskeleton. 2009 Oct;66(10):824-38
19396870
Mol Cell Biol. 2004 Jun;24(11):4979-93
15143189
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Mar 19;99(6):3422-7
11904404
Dev Neurobiol. 2008 Nov;68(13):1441-53
18726912
Neuron. 2003 Oct 9;40(2):209-27
14556705
Neuron. 2003 Nov 13;40(4):749-62
14622579
Mol Biol Cell. 2000 Oct;11(10):3573-87
11029056
Cell. 2008 Oct 3;135(1):137-48
18854161
Mol Cell Neurosci. 2005 Apr;28(4):599-612
15797708
J Cell Biol. 2000 Aug 7;150(3):589-600
10931870
Mol Biol Cell. 1998 Jun;9(6):1235-52
9614171
J Biol Chem. 2004 Aug 20;279(34):35958-66
15205466
EMBO J. 2007 Mar 7;26(5):1397-409
17304222
Development. 2002 Jul;129(14):3367-79
12091307
Gene. 2002 May 15;290(1-2):73-94
12062803
PLoS Comput Biol. 2006 Dec 8;2(12):e167
17154715
Cancer Res. 2005 Sep 15;65(18):8101-10
16166283
Nat Cell Biol. 2006 Dec;8(12):1383-8
17086175
Dev Biol. 1997 Feb 1;182(1):88-100
9073451
J Biol Chem. 1998 Jan 23;273(4):2192-8
9442061
J Cell Biol. 2005 Apr 25;169(2):355-66
15851520
Leukemia. 2000 Apr;14(4):594-601
10764144