title: VAB-10 spectraplakin acts in cell and nuclear migration in Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: Cytoskeletal regulation is important in cell migration. The Caenorhabditis elegans gonadal distal tip cells (DTCs) offer a simple model with which to investigate the mechanism of cell migration in organogenesis. Here, we report that one of the spectraplakin isoforms, VAB-10B1, plays an essential role in cell and nuclear migration of DTCs by regulating the actin and microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton. In the vab-10(tk27) mutant, which lacks VAB-10B1, alignment of filamentous (F)-actin and MTs was weakly and severely disorganized, respectively, which resulted in a failure to translocate the DTC nucleus and a premature termination of DTC migration. An MT growing-tip marker, EBP-2-GFP, revealed that polarized outgrowth of MTs towards the nuclei of migrating DTCs was strikingly impaired in tk27 animals. A vab-10 mini-gene encoding only the actin- and MT-binding domains significantly rescued the gonadal defects, suggesting that VAB-10B1 has a role in linking actin and MT filaments. These results suggest that VAB-10B1/spectraplakin regulates the polarized alignment of MTs, possibly by linking F-actin and MTs, which enables normal nuclear translocation and cell migration of DTCs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioscience, Kwansei Gakuin University, 2-1 Gakuen, Sanda 669-1337, Japan.
authors.forename: Hon-Song
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ryoko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Quintin
authors.forename: Masataka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Kiyotaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohkura
authors.forename: Katsuyuki K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Tamai
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Labouesse
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: Kiyoji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishiwaki
mesh_terms: D008841:Actin Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D019521:Body Patterning / Q000235:genetics; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000235:genetics*; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D006066:Gonads / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D051179:Plakins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D051179:Plakins; D020033:Protein Isoforms; C475260:VAB-10 protein, C elegans