Specification of the patterning of a ductal tree during branching morphogenesis of the submandibular gland

Abstract The development of ductal structures during branching morphogenesis relies on signals that specify ductal progenitors to set up a pattern for the ductal network. Here, we identify cellular asymmetries defined by the F-actin cytoskeleton and the cell adhesion protein ZO-1 as the earliest det...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Janice L. Walker, Weihao Wang, Edith Lin, Alison Romisher, Meghan P. Bouchie, Brigid Bleaken, A. Sue Menko, Maria A. Kukuruzinska
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:
R
Q
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/d770138b20474128aeea4295fea71d22
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
Descripción
Sumario:Abstract The development of ductal structures during branching morphogenesis relies on signals that specify ductal progenitors to set up a pattern for the ductal network. Here, we identify cellular asymmetries defined by the F-actin cytoskeleton and the cell adhesion protein ZO-1 as the earliest determinants of duct specification in the embryonic submandibular gland (SMG). Apical polarity protein aPKCζ is then recruited to the sites of asymmetry in a ZO-1-dependent manner and collaborates with ROCK signaling to set up apical-basal polarity of ductal progenitors and further define the path of duct specification. Moreover, the motor protein myosin IIB, a mediator of mechanical force transmission along actin filaments, becomes localized to vertices linking the apical domains of multiple ductal epithelial cells during the formation of ductal lumens and drives duct maturation. These studies identify cytoskeletal, junctional and polarity proteins as the early determinants of duct specification and the patterning of a ductal tree during branching morphogenesis of the SMG.