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EMBO reports 4, 8, 793–799 (2003)
doi:10.1038/sj.embor.embor900
AOP Published online: 11 July 2003
Fly and mammalian lipid phosphate phosphatase isoforms differ in activity both in vitro and in vivo
Camilla Burnett & Ken Howard
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MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, and
Department of Physiology, University College London, Gower
Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
To whom correspondence should be addressed
Ken Howard Tel: +44 20 7679 2248; Fax: +44 20 7679 7805;
ken.howard@ucl.ac.uk
Received 14 March 2003; Accepted 11 June 2003; Published online 11 July 2003.
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Abstract
Wunen (Wun), a homologue of a lipid phosphate phosphatase (LPP), has a
crucial function in the migration and survival of primordial germ cells (PGCs)
during Drosophila embryogenesis. Past work has indicated that the LPP
isoforms may show functional redundancy in certain systems, and that they have
broad-range lipid phosphatase activities in vitro, with little apparent
specificity between them. We show here that there are marked differences in
biochemical activity between fly Wun and mammalian LPPs, with Wun having a
narrower activity range than has been reported for the mammalian LPPs.
Furthermore, although it is active on a range of substrates in vitro,
mouse Lpp1 has no activity on an endogenous Drosophila
germ-cell-specific factor in vivo. Conversely, human LPP3 is active,
resulting in aberrant migration and PGC death. These results show an absolute
difference in bioactivity among LPP isoforms for the first time in a model
organism and may point towards an underlying signalling system that is
conserved between flies and humans.
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