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Article
Nature Cell Biology  3, 983 - 991 (2001)
doi:10.1038/ncb1101-983

Cooperative regulation of AJM-1 controls junctional integrity in Caenorhabditis elegans epithelia

Mathias Köppen1, Jeffrey S. Simske2, Paul A. Sims2, Bonnie L. Firestein3, David H. Hall4, Anthony D. Radice5, Christopher Rongo6 & Jeffrey D. Hardin1, 2

1  Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1117 West Johnson Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA

2  Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1117 West Johnson Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA

3  Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA

4  Center for C. elegans Anatomy, Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1410 Pelham Parkway, Bronx, New York 10461, USA

5  Department of Stem Cell Biology, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, 310 East 67th Street, New York, New York 10021, USA

6  Department of Genetics, The Waksman Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA

Correspondence should be addressed to Jeffrey D. Hardin jdhardin@facstaff.wisc.edu
Published 8 October 2001
The function of epithelial cell sheets depends on the integrity of specialized cell−cell junctions that connect neighbouring cells. We have characterized the novel coiled-coil protein AJM-1, which localizes to an apical junctional domain of Caenorhabditis elegans epithelia basal to the HMR−HMP (cadherin−catenin) complex. In the absence of AJM-1, the integrity of this domain is compromised. Proper AJM-1 localization requires LET-413 and DLG-1, homologues of the Drosophila tumour suppressors Scribble and Discs large, respectively. DLG-1 physically interacts with AJM-1 and is required for its normal apical distribution, and LET-413 mediates the rapid accumulation of both DLG-1 and AJM-1 in the apical domain. In the absence of both dlg-1 and let-413 function AJM-1 is almost completely lost from apical junctions in embryos, whereas HMP-1 (alpha-catenin) localization is only mildly affected. We conclude that LET-413 and DLG-1 cooperatively control AJM-1 localization and that AJM-1 controls the integrity of a distinct apical junctional domain in C. elegans.

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Nature Cell Biology
ISSN: 1465-7392
EISSN: 1476-4679
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