Drosophila Fasciclin I Is a Novel Homophilic Adhesion Molecule That along with Fasciclin III Can Mediate Cell Sorting

• Published in: The Journal of cell biology Vol. 110; no. 5; pp. 1825 - 1832
• Main Authors: Elkins, Thomas, Hortsch, Michael, Bieber, Allan J., Snow, Peter M., Goodman, Corey S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Rockefeller University Press 01-05-1990; The Rockefeller University Press
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies; Calcium - physiology; Cell adhesion; Cell Adhesion - physiology; Cell adhesion molecules; Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal - biosynthesis; Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal - physiology; Cell aggregates; Cell Aggregation - physiology; Cell lines; Cells; Cells, Cultured; Diptera; Drosophila; Drosophila - cytology; Drosophila - growth & development; Drosophila Proteins; Drosophilidae; fasciclin I; L cells; Neural cell adhesion molecules; Neuroglia; Neurons; S2 cells; Transfection
• ISSN: 0021-9525; 1540-8140
• DOI: 10.1083/jcb.110.5.1825

Fasciclin I is a membrane-associated glycoprotein that is regionally expressed on a subset of fasciculating axons during neuronal development in insects; it is expressed on apposing cell surfaces, suggesting a role in specific cell adhesion. In this paper we show that Drosophila fasciclin I is a novel homophilic cell adhesion molecule. When the nonadhesive Drosophila S2 cells are transfected with the fasciclin I cDNA, they form aggregates that are blocked by antisera against fasciclin I. When cells expressing fasciclin I are mixed with cells expressing fasciclin III, another Drosophila homophilic adhesion molecule, the mixture sorts into aggregates homogeneous for either fasciclin I- or fasciclin III-expressing cells. The ability of these two novel adhesion molecules to mediate cell sorting in vitro suggests that they might play a similar role during neuronal development.