An apicobasal gradient of Rac activity determines protrusion form and position
Each cell within a polarised epithelial sheet must align and correctly position a wide range of subcellular structures, including actin-based dynamic protrusions. Using in vivo inducible transgenes that can sense or modify Rac activity, we demonstrate an apicobasal gradient of Rac activity that is r...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Publishing Group
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41187/ |
| _version_ | 1848796216848023552 |
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| author | Couto, Africa Mack, Natalie Ann Favia, Lucrezia Georgiou, Marios |
| author_facet | Couto, Africa Mack, Natalie Ann Favia, Lucrezia Georgiou, Marios |
| author_sort | Couto, Africa |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Each cell within a polarised epithelial sheet must align and correctly position a wide range of subcellular structures, including actin-based dynamic protrusions. Using in vivo inducible transgenes that can sense or modify Rac activity, we demonstrate an apicobasal gradient of Rac activity that is required to correctly form and position distinct classes of dynamic protrusion along the apicobasal axis of the cell. We show that we can modify the Rac activity gradient in genetic mutants for specific polarity proteins, with consequent changes in protrusion form and position and additionally show, using photoactivatable Rac transgenes, that it is the level of Rac activity that determines protrusion form. Thus, we demonstrate a mechanism by which polarity proteins can spatially regulate Rac activity and the actin cytoskeleton to ensure correct epithelial cell shape and prevent epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:44:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-41187 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:44:28Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-411872020-05-04T18:46:17Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41187/ An apicobasal gradient of Rac activity determines protrusion form and position Couto, Africa Mack, Natalie Ann Favia, Lucrezia Georgiou, Marios Each cell within a polarised epithelial sheet must align and correctly position a wide range of subcellular structures, including actin-based dynamic protrusions. Using in vivo inducible transgenes that can sense or modify Rac activity, we demonstrate an apicobasal gradient of Rac activity that is required to correctly form and position distinct classes of dynamic protrusion along the apicobasal axis of the cell. We show that we can modify the Rac activity gradient in genetic mutants for specific polarity proteins, with consequent changes in protrusion form and position and additionally show, using photoactivatable Rac transgenes, that it is the level of Rac activity that determines protrusion form. Thus, we demonstrate a mechanism by which polarity proteins can spatially regulate Rac activity and the actin cytoskeleton to ensure correct epithelial cell shape and prevent epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions. Nature Publishing Group 2017-05-19 Article PeerReviewed Couto, Africa, Mack, Natalie Ann, Favia, Lucrezia and Georgiou, Marios (2017) An apicobasal gradient of Rac activity determines protrusion form and position. Nature Communications, 8 . 15385/1-15385/10. ISSN 2041-1723 https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15385 doi:10.1038/ncomms15385 doi:10.1038/ncomms15385 |
| spellingShingle | Couto, Africa Mack, Natalie Ann Favia, Lucrezia Georgiou, Marios An apicobasal gradient of Rac activity determines protrusion form and position |
| title | An apicobasal gradient of Rac activity determines protrusion form and position |
| title_full | An apicobasal gradient of Rac activity determines protrusion form and position |
| title_fullStr | An apicobasal gradient of Rac activity determines protrusion form and position |
| title_full_unstemmed | An apicobasal gradient of Rac activity determines protrusion form and position |
| title_short | An apicobasal gradient of Rac activity determines protrusion form and position |
| title_sort | apicobasal gradient of rac activity determines protrusion form and position |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41187/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41187/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41187/ |