Apical PAR complex proteins protect against programmed epithelial assaults to create a continuous and functional intestinal lumen
- Stanford University, United States
Abstract
Sustained polarity and adhesion of epithelial cells is essential for the protection of our organs and bodies, and this epithelial integrity emerges during organ development amidst numerous programmed morphogenetic assaults. Using the developing C. elegans intestine as an in vivo model, we investigated how epithelia maintain their integrity through cell division and elongation to build a functional tube. Live-imaging revealed that apical PAR complex proteins PAR-6/Par6 and PKC-3/aPkc remained apical during mitosis while apical microtubules and microtubule-organizing center (MTOC) proteins were transiently removed. Intestine-specific depletion of PAR-6, PKC-3, and the aPkc regulator CDC-42/Cdc42 caused persistent gaps in the apical MTOC as well as in other apical and junctional proteins after cell division and in non-dividing cells that elongated. Upon hatching, gaps coincided with luminal constrictions that blocked food, and larvae arrested and died. Thus, the apical PAR complex maintains apical and junctional continuity to construct a functional intestinal tube.
Data availability
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files. Source data files have been provided for Figures 6 and 7.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
National Institutes of Health (DP2 GM119136-01)
- Jessica L Feldman
National Institutes of Health (R01 GM133950)
- Jessica L Feldman
National Institutes of Health (F32 GM129900-01)
- Melissa A Pickett
National Institutes of Health (K99 GM13548901)
- Maria Danielle Sallee
National Institutes of Health (F32 GM120913-02)
- Maria Danielle Sallee
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Copyright
© 2021, Sallee et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Apical PAR complex proteins protect against programmed epithelial assaults to create a continuous and functional intestinal lumen
eLife 10:e64437.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.64437
