Non-malignant mammary epithelial cells (MECs) undergo acinar morphogenesis in three-dimensional Matrigel culture, a trait that is lost upon oncogenic transformation. Rho GTPases are thought to play important roles in regulating epithelial cell-cell junctions, but their contributions to acinar morphogenesis remain unclear. Here we report that the activity of Rho GTPases is down-regulated in non-malignant MECs in three-dimensional culture with particular suppression of Rac1 and Cdc42. Inducible expression of a constitutively active form of Vav2, a Rho GTPase guanine nucleotide exchange factor activated by receptor tyrosine kinases, in three-dimensional MEC culture activated Rac1 and Cdc42; Vav2 induction from early stages of culture impaired acinar morphogenesis, and induction in preformed acini disrupted the pre-established acinar architecture and led to cellular outgrowths. Knockdown studies demonstrated that Rac1 and Cdc42 mediate the constitutively active Vav2 phenotype, whereas in contrast, RhoA knockdown intensified the Vav2-induced disruption of acini, leading to more aggressive cell outgrowth and branching morphogenesis. These results indicate that RhoA plays an antagonistic role to Rac1/Cdc42 in the control of mammary epithelial acinar morphogenesis.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2801280 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M109.057976 | DOI Listing |
Cell
December 2024
Hubrecht Institute, Oncode Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands; University Medical Center Utrecht, 3584 CX Utrecht, the Netherlands; Princess Maxima Centre for Pediatric Oncology, 3584 CS Utrecht, the Netherlands; Institute of Human Biology (IHB), Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche innovation Centre, 4070 Basel, Switzerland. Electronic address:
J Cell Physiol
November 2024
State Key Laboratory of Oral & Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Regeneration, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Stomatology, School & Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
The development of the salivary gland (SG) is a complex process regulated by multiple signaling pathways in a spatiotemporal manner. Various stem/progenitor cell populations and respective cell lineages are involved in SG morphogenesis and postnatal maturation. Leucine-rich repeats and immunoglobulin-like domains 1 (LRIG1) has been identified as critical regulator of stem cells by virtue of its ability to restrain stem cell proliferation, indicating its potential role in the development of several maxillofacial tissues and in the regulation of the quiescence in adult tissues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Anat Embryol Cell Biol
September 2024
Department of Biology, Indiana University-Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
The pancreas is a dual-function organ, with exocrine cells that aid in digestion and endocrine cells that regulate glucose homeostasis. These cell types share common progenitors and arise from the embryonic ducts. Early signaling events in the embryonic ducts shape the neonatal, adolescent, and adult exocrine and endocrine pancreas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
August 2024
Matrix and Morphogenesis Section, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Heparan sulfate (HS) regulation of FGFR function, which is essential for salivary gland (SG) development, is determined by the immense structural diversity of sulfated HS domains. 3-O-sulfotransferases generate highly 3-O-sulfated HS domains (3-O-HS), and Hs3st3a1 and Hs3st3b1 are enriched in myoepithelial cells (MECs) that produce basement membrane (BM) and are a growth factor signaling hub. Hs3st3a1;Hs3st3b1 double-knockout (DKO) mice generated to investigate 3-O-HS regulation of MEC function and growth factor signaling show loss of specific highly 3-O-HS and increased FGF/FGFR complex binding to HS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough the regulation of branching morphogenesis by spatially distributed cues is well established, the role of intracellular signaling in determining the branching pattern remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the regulation and function of phospholipase C gamma (PLCγ) in Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) signaling in lacrimal gland development. We showed that deletion of in the lacrimal gland epithelium leads to ectopic branching and acinar hyperplasia, which was phenocopied by either mutating the PLCγ1 binding site on Fgfr2 or disabling any of its SH2 domains.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!