General Comment |
A hippo signaling gene. Basolateral junctions utilize warts signaling to control epithelial-mesenchymal transition and proliferation crucial for migration and invasion of Drosophila ovarian epithelial cells. Zhao M et al. Fasciclin2 (Fas2) and Discslarge (Dlg) localize to the basolateral junction (BLJ) of Drosophila follicle epithelial cells and inhibit their proliferation and invasion. To identify a BLJ signaling pathway we completed a genomewide screen for mutants that enhance dlg tumorigenesis. We identified two genes that encode known BLJ scaffolding proteins, lethal giant larvae (lgl) and scribble (scrib), and several not previously associated with BLJ function, including warts (wts) and roughened eye (roe), which encode a serine-threonine kinase and a transcription factor, respectively. Like scrib, wts and roe also enhance Fas2 and lgl tumorigenesis. Further, scrib, wts, and roe block border cell migration, and cause noninvasive tumors that resemble dlg partial loss of function, suggesting that the BLJ utilizes Wts signaling to repress EMT and proliferation, but not motility. Apicolateral junction proteins Fat (Ft), Expanded (Ex), and Merlin (Mer) either are not involved in these processes, or have highly spatio-temporally restricted roles, diminishing their significance as upstream inputs to Wts in follicle cells. This is further indicated in that Wts targets, CyclinE and DIAP1, are elevated in Fas2, dlg, lgl, wts, and roe cells, but not Fat, ex, or mer cells. Thus, the BLJ appears to regulate epithelial polarity and dynamics not only as a localized scaffold, but also by communicating signals to the nucleus. Wts may be regulated by distinct junction inputs depending on developmental context.
NCBI Summary:
This gene encodes a protein that was identified as being similar to the Drosophila scribble protein. The mammalian protein is involved in tumor suppression pathways. As a scaffold protein involved in cell polarization processes, this protein binds to many other proteins. The encoded protein binds to papillomavirus E6 protein via its PDZ domain and the C-terminus of E6. Two alternatively spliced transcript variants that encode different protein isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Nov 2011]
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