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Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)
 
 
 

Lumen morphogenesis in C. elegans requires the membrane-cytoskeleton linker erm-1.

Epithelial tubes are basic building blocks of complex organs, but their architectural requirements are not well understood. Here we show that erm-1 is a unique C. elegans ortholog of the ERM family of cytoskeleton-membrane linkers, with an essential role in lumen morphogenesis. ERM-1 localizes to the luminal membranes of those tubular organ epithelia which lack stabilization by cuticle. RNA interference (RNAi), a germline deletion, and overexpression of erm-1 cause cystic luminal phenotypes in these epithelia. Confocal and ultrastructural analyses indicate that erm-1 functions directly in apical membrane morphogenesis, rather than in epithelial polarity and junction assembly as has been previously proposed for ERMs. We also show that act-5/cytoplasmic actin and sma-1/beta-H-spectrin are required for lumen formation and functionally interact with erm-1. Our findings suggest that there are common structural constraints on the architecture of diverse organ lumina.[1]

References

  1. Lumen morphogenesis in C. elegans requires the membrane-cytoskeleton linker erm-1. Göbel, V., Barrett, P.L., Hall, D.H., Fleming, J.T. Dev. Cell (2004) [Pubmed]
 
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