title: Coordinated lumen contraction and expansion during vulval tube morphogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: Morphogenesis is a developmental phase during which cell fates are executed. Mechanical forces shaping individual cells play a key role during tissue morphogenesis. By investigating morphogenesis of the Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite vulva, we show that the force-generating actomyosin network is differentially regulated by NOTCH and EGFR/RAS/MAPK signaling to shape the vulval tube. NOTCH signaling activates expression of the RHO kinase LET-502 in the secondary cell lineage through the ETS-family transcription factor LIN-1. LET-502 induces actomyosin-mediated contraction of the apical lumen in the secondary toroids, thereby generating a dorsal pushing force. In contrast, MAPK signaling in the primary lineage downregulates LET-502 RHO kinase expression to prevent toroid contraction and allow the gonadal anchor cell to expand the dorsal lumen of the primary toroids. The antagonistic action of the MAPK and NOTCH pathways thus controls vulval tube morphogenesis linking cell fate specification to morphogenesis.
authors.affiliation: University of Zürich, Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sarfarazhussain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Farooqui
authors.forename: Mark W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Pellegrino
authors.forename: Ivo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rimann
authors.forename: Matthias K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Morf
authors.forename: Louisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fröhli
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hajnal
mesh_terms: D000205:Actomyosin / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D009024:Morphogenesis; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D051880:Receptors, Notch / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014844:Vulva / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D051880:Receptors, Notch; D000205:Actomyosin; C515856:LET-502 protein, C elegans; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases