RESUMEN
Polarity is a fundamental property of most cell types. The Par protein complex is a major driving force in generating asymmetrically localized protein networks and consists of atypical protein kinase C (aPKC), Par3, and Par6. Dysfunction of this complex causes developmental abnormalities and diseases such as cancer. We identified a PDZ domain-binding motif in Par6 that was essential for its interaction with Par3 in vitro and for Par3-mediated membrane localization of Par6 in cultured cells. In fly embryos, we observed that the PDZ domain-binding motif was functionally redundant with the PDZ domain in targeting Par6 to the cortex of epithelial cells. Our structural analyses by x-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy showed that both the PDZ1 and PDZ3 domains but not the PDZ2 domain in Par3 engaged in a canonical interaction with the PDZ domain-binding motif in Par6. Par3 thus has the potential to recruit two Par6 proteins simultaneously, which may facilitate the assembly of polarity protein networks through multivalent PDZ domain interactions.
Asunto(s)
Proteínas Adaptadoras Transductoras de Señales/metabolismo , Polaridad Celular , Proteínas de Drosophila/metabolismo , Péptidos y Proteínas de Señalización Intracelular/metabolismo , Dominios PDZ , Proteínas Adaptadoras Transductoras de Señales/química , Proteínas Adaptadoras Transductoras de Señales/genética , Secuencias de Aminoácidos/genética , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Animales , Línea Celular , Cristalografía por Rayos X , Proteínas de Drosophila/química , Proteínas de Drosophila/genética , Drosophila melanogaster/citología , Drosophila melanogaster/genética , Drosophila melanogaster/metabolismo , Células HEK293 , Humanos , Péptidos y Proteínas de Señalización Intracelular/química , Péptidos y Proteínas de Señalización Intracelular/genética , Modelos Moleculares , Unión ProteicaRESUMEN
In epithelia, cells adhere to each other in a dynamic fashion, allowing the cells to change their shape and move along each other during morphogenesis. The regulation of adhesion occurs at the belt-shaped adherens junction, the zonula adherens (ZA). Formation of the ZA depends on components of the Par-atypical PKC (Par-aPKC) complex of polarity regulators. We have identified the Lin11, Isl-1, Mec-3 (LIM) protein Smallish (Smash), the orthologue of vertebrate LMO7, as a binding partner of Bazooka/Par-3 (Baz), a core component of the Par-aPKC complex. Smash also binds to Canoe/Afadin and the tyrosine kinase Src42A and localizes to the ZA in a planar polarized fashion. Animals lacking Smash show loss of planar cell polarity (PCP) in the embryonic epidermis and reduced cell bond tension, leading to severe defects during embryonic morphogenesis of epithelial tissues and organs. Overexpression of Smash causes apical constriction of epithelial cells. We propose that Smash is a key regulator of morphogenesis coordinating PCP and actomyosin contractility at the ZA.