Drosophila apc regulates delamination of invasive epithelial clusters.

Border Cells in the Drosophila ovaries are a useful genetic model for understanding the molecular events underlying epithelial cell motility. During stage 9 of egg chamber development they detach from neighboring stretched cells and migrate between the nurse cells to reach the oocyte. RNAi screening allowed us to identify the dapc1 gene as being critical in this process. Clonal and live analysis showed a requirement of dapc1 in both outer border cells and contacting stretched cells for delamination. This mutant phenotype was rescued by dapc1 or dapc2 expression. Loss of dapc1 function was associated with an abnormal lasting accumulation of ß-catenin/Armadillo and E-cadherin at the boundary between migrating border and stretched cells. Moreover, ß-catenin/armadillo or E-cadherin downregulation rescued the dapc1 loss of function phenotype. Altogether these results indicate that Drosophila Apc1 is required for dynamic remodeling of ß-catenin/Armadillo and E-cadherin adhesive complexes between outer border cells and stretched cells regulating proper delamination and invasion of migrating epithelial clusters.

Truncated products of the vestigial proliferation gene induce apoptosis.

The vestigial (vg) gene in D. melanogaster, whose mutant phenotype is characterized by wing atrophy, encodes a novel nuclear protein involved in cell proliferation. The original vg mutant (vgBG) displays massive apoptosis in the wing imaginal disc. Here we tested the hypothesis that the vg mutant phenotype could be due: (i) to lack of cell proliferation in null mutants due to the absence of the Vg product and, (ii) to apoptosis in vgBG and other mutants due to the presence of a major Vg truncated product. In agreement with our hypothesis no cell death was observed in null vg mutants, and the anticell death baculovirus P35 product is unable to rescue the mutant phenotype caused by absence of the Vg product. In addition, expression of the antiproliferative gene dacapo, the homolog of p21, induces a mutant wing phenotype without inducing cell death. In contrast the wing phenotype of the original vg mutant could be reproduced by the ectopic expression of the reaper cell death gene when expressed by vg regulatory sequences. In agreement with the hypothesis, the classic vg mutant spontaneously displays an increase in reaper expression in the wing disc and its phenotype can be partially rescued by the P35 product. Finally, we showed that ectopic expression of a truncated Vg product is able on its own to induce ectopic cell death and reaper expression. Our results shed new light on the function of the vg gene, in particular, they suggest that the normal and truncated products affect vg target genes in different ways.

Notch signaling represses the glial fate in fly PNS.

By using gain-of-function mutations it has been proposed that vertebrate Notch promotes the glial fate. We show in vivo that glial cells are produced at the expense of neurons in the peripheral nervous system of flies lacking Notch and that constitutively activated Notch produces the opposite phenotype. Notch acts as a genetic switch between neuronal and glial fates by negatively regulating glial cell deficient/glial cells missing, the gene required in the glial precursor to induce gliogenesis. Moreover, Notch represses neurogenesis or gliogenesis, depending on the sensory organ type. Numb, which is asymmetrically localized in the multipotent cell that produces the glial precursor, induces glial cells at the expense of neurons. Thus, a cell-autonomous mechanism inhibits Notch signaling.

Some fly sensory organs are gliogenic and require glide/gcm in a precursor that divides symmetrically and produces glial cells.

In flies, the choice between neuronal and glial fates depends on the asymmetric division of multipotent precursors, the neuroglioblast of the central nervous system and the IIb precursor of the sensory organ lineage. In the central nervous system, the choice between the two fates requires asymmetric distribution of the glial cell deficient/glial cell missing (glide/gcm) RNA in the neuroglioblast. Preferential accumulation of the transcript in one of the daughter cells results in the activation of the glial fate in that cell, which becomes a glial precursor. Here we show that glide/gcm is necessary to induce glial differentiation in the peripheral nervous system. We also present evidence that glide/gcm RNA is not necessary to induce the fate choice in the peripheral multipotent precursor. Indeed, glide/gcm RNA and protein are first detected in one daughter of IIb but not in IIb itself. Thus, glide/gcm is required in both central and peripheral glial cells, but its regulation is context dependent. Strikingly, we have found that only subsets of sensory organs are gliogenic and express glide/gcm. The ability to produce glial cells depends on fixed, lineage related, cues and not on stochastic decisions. Finally, we show that after glide/gcm expression has ceased, the IIb daughter migrates and divides symmetrically to produce several mature glial cells. Thus, the glide/gcm-expressing cell, also called the fifth cell of the sensory organ, is indeed a glial precursor. This is the first reported case of symmetric division in the sensory organ lineage. These data indicate that the organization of the fly peripheral nervous system is more complex than previously thought.