An NDPase links ADAM protease glycosylation with organ morphogenesis in C. elegans

• Published in: Nature cell biology Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 31 - 37
• Main Authors: Nishiwaki, Kiyoji, Kubota, Yukihiko, Chigira, Yuko, Roy, Samir Kumar, Suzuki, Maho, Schvarzstein, Mara, Jigami, Yoshifumi, Hisamoto, Naoki, Matsumoto, Kunihiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 01-01-2004
• Subjects: Acid Anhydride Hydrolases - genetics; Acid Anhydride Hydrolases - isolation & purification; Acid Anhydride Hydrolases - metabolism; Animals; Animals, Genetically Modified; Base Sequence - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans; Caenorhabditis elegans - cytology; Caenorhabditis elegans - embryology; Caenorhabditis elegans - enzymology; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - isolation & purification; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - metabolism; Cell Differentiation - genetics; Cell Lineage - genetics; Cell Movement - physiology; Cytological research; Disintegrins - metabolism; DNA, Complementary - analysis; DNA, Complementary - genetics; Gene expression; Genetic aspects; Glycoproteins - metabolism; Glycosylation; Gonads - cytology; Gonads - embryology; Gonads - metabolism; Metalloendopeptidases - metabolism; MIG-17 protein; MIG-23 protein; Molecular Sequence Data; Muscle Cells - metabolism; Mutation; Mutation - genetics; Observations; Organogenesis; Organogenesis - physiology; Properties; Proteases; Stem Cells - cytology; Stem Cells - metabolism; Japan
• ISSN: 1465-7392; 1476-4679; 1476-4679
• DOI: 10.1038/ncb1079

In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the gonad acquires two U-shaped arms through the directed migration of its distal tip cells (DTCs), which are located at the tip of the growing gonad arms. A member of the ADAM (a disintegrin and metalloprotease) family, MIG-17, regulates directional migration of DTCs: MIG-17 is synthesized and secreted from the muscle cells of the body wall, and diffuses to the gonad where it is required for DTC migration. The mig-23 mutation causes defective migration of DTCs and interacts genetically with mig-17. Here, we report that mig-23 encodes a membrane-bound nucleoside diphosphatase (NDPase) required for glycosylation and proper localization of MIG-17. Our findings indicate that an NDPase affects organ morphogenesis through glycosylation of the MIG-17 ADAM protease.