Control of Cell Migration during Development.
Abstract
Numerous metazoan cell types migrate extensively from their sites of birth to adopt positions critical for normal development. For example, in many animals primordial germ cells move to the gonad during development. In the vertebrate central nervous system, neurons migrate radially from a proliferative zone to generate the layers of the cortex. Migrating neural crest cells populate the ganglia of the peripheral nervous system. Similarly, neuronal growth cones migrate to their synaptic targets, an essential step in achieving connectivity. The objective of my research is to understand how migrating cells and neuronal growth cones are directed along their pathways. In particular, I want to understand how migrating cells recognize and respond to extracellular guidance cues, and how their migrations are terminated at their proper destinations. I conducted two screens for genes that are required for cell migration in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. One of the genes I identified, cam-1, specifies the final positions of migrating cells and orients cell polarity. cam-1 appears to encode a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) most similar to RTKs of the Ror subclass. Although other Ror proteins are known to be expressed in the developing nervous system (Masiakowski and Carroll, 1992; Oishi et al., 1997; Wilson et al., 1993), my analysis of cam-1 mutants provides the first evidence that these proteins function in cell migration. In addition to cam-1, I identified seven new genes as well as previously identified genes. Five of the previously identified genes encode proteins thought to be important for various aspects of cell migration in other organisms. This suggests that the new genes isolated in my screen are also likely to encode interesting proteins that function directly in cell migration.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA332871
Entities
People
- Gian Garriga
- Wayne C. Forrester
Organizations
- University of California, Berkeley