TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of the laminin β subunit in laminin heterotrimer assembly and basement membrane function and development in C. elegans
AU - Kao, Gautam
AU - Huang, Cheng Chen
AU - Hedgecock, Edward M.
AU - Hall, David H.
AU - Wadsworth, William G.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Peter Yurchenco and Martha Soto for helpful discussions; Xing-Cong Ren and other members of the Wadsworth Laboratory for assistance with strain constructions; the Caenorhabditis Genetic Center for strains; Rajesh Patel and the Cellular and Molecular Imaging Core Laboratory for assistance with electron microscopy; and Martha Soto, Christopher Quinn, and Gauri Kulkarni for comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by NIH RR 12596 to D.H.H., NIH NS 33156 to W.G.W., and by NIH NS 026295 to E.M.H.
PY - 2006/2/1
Y1 - 2006/2/1
N2 - Laminins are components of basement membranes that are required for morphogenesis, organizing cell adhesions and cell signaling. Studies have suggested that laminins function as αx βy γz heterotrimers in vivo. In C. elegans, there is only one laminin β gene, suggesting that it is required for all laminin functions. Our analysis is consistent with the role of the laminin β as a subunit of laminin heterotrimers; the same cells express the laminin α, β, and γ subunits, the laminin β subunit localizes to all basement membranes throughout development, and secretion of the β subunit requires an α subunit. RNAi inhibition of the β subunit gene or of the other subunit genes causes an embryonic lethality phenotype. Furthermore, a distinctive set of phenotypes is caused by both viable laminin α and β partial loss-of-function mutations. These results show developmental roles for the laminin β subunit, and they provide further genetic evidence for the importance of heterotrimer assembly in vivo.
AB - Laminins are components of basement membranes that are required for morphogenesis, organizing cell adhesions and cell signaling. Studies have suggested that laminins function as αx βy γz heterotrimers in vivo. In C. elegans, there is only one laminin β gene, suggesting that it is required for all laminin functions. Our analysis is consistent with the role of the laminin β as a subunit of laminin heterotrimers; the same cells express the laminin α, β, and γ subunits, the laminin β subunit localizes to all basement membranes throughout development, and secretion of the β subunit requires an α subunit. RNAi inhibition of the β subunit gene or of the other subunit genes causes an embryonic lethality phenotype. Furthermore, a distinctive set of phenotypes is caused by both viable laminin α and β partial loss-of-function mutations. These results show developmental roles for the laminin β subunit, and they provide further genetic evidence for the importance of heterotrimer assembly in vivo.
KW - Basement membrane
KW - C. elegans
KW - Extracellular matrix
KW - Laminin
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ydbio.2005.11.026
DO - 10.1016/j.ydbio.2005.11.026
M3 - Article
C2 - 16376872
AN - SCOPUS:30544454767
SN - 0012-1606
VL - 290
SP - 211
EP - 219
JO - Developmental Biology
JF - Developmental Biology
IS - 1
ER -