Function of the mechano-gated ion channel NompC in tissue morphogenesis

Mechanosensitive ion channels have long been investigated in the field of neurobiology. However, their roles in other tissues, especially in epithelial tissues, remained elusive. Epithelial cells, being closely packed in tissues, can sense and are able to respond to the mechanical forces generate...

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第一著者: Roy Choudhury, Ankit
その他の著者: Großhans, Jörg (Prof. Dr.) (論文の指導者)
フォーマット: Dissertation
言語:英語
出版事項: Philipps-Universität Marburg 2023
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その他の書誌記述
要約:Mechanosensitive ion channels have long been investigated in the field of neurobiology. However, their roles in other tissues, especially in epithelial tissues, remained elusive. Epithelial cells, being closely packed in tissues, can sense and are able to respond to the mechanical forces generated and transmitted by their neighbours. Such mechanical communication among epithelial cells is classically achieved via the cadherin-catenin complexes at the cell junctions. The mechanical signals received by the mechanomolecules are thereafter either directly transmitted through the cytoskeletal reorganisation or are transduced into biochemical signals inside the cells. We hypothesised that mechanosensitive ion channels can also act as mechanomolecules in epithelial cells. Based on the previous findings, I went on to investigate if NompC, the first to be known mechanosensitive channel in Drosophila, is expressed in the epithelial cells too and, if so, what purpose it serves there. I have found a widespread expression of the NompC channel in multiple tissues, including the amnioserosa, a highly dynamic and short-lived epithelial tissue during dorsal closure, a major morphogenetic transformation event in Drosophila. The absence of NompC led to multiple defects in the dorsal closure process. Amnioserosa cells exhibit a high degree of coordination, manifested through a synchronised oscillatory behaviour between neighbouring cells. My study revealed that NompC is a critical regulator of this synchrony. I also found that NompC is responsive to mechanical forces in the amnioserosa tissue and drives Ca2+ influx into the cells. Depletion of NompC caused a disruption in directional force distribution across the tissue and an anisotropic cellular morphology. I found NompC is important to facilitate active cell oscillation. An absence of NompC disables the cells to relay external mechanical inputs across the tissue efficiently. I found several interesting cytoskeletal changes that directly or indirectly are supposed to be affected by NompC as the molecular basis that translates into the downstream tissue-scale behaviour. In brief, this study provides us with a clear understanding of the roles of a mechanosensitive ion channel, NompC, in epithelial cells. However, more research is needed to elucidate the gating activity and the interacting partners of the NompC channel.
DOI:10.17192/z2023.0661