The AFF-1 exoplasmic fusogen is required for endocytic scission and seamless tube elongation.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 29717108.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-04091-1 and PMC identifier 5931541.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Many membranes must merge during cellular trafficking, but fusion and fission events initiating at exoplasmic (non-cytosolic) membrane surfaces are not well understood. Here we show that the C. elegans cell-cell fusogen anchor-cell fusion failure 1 (AFF-1) is required for membrane trafficking events during development of a seamless unicellular tube. EGF-Ras-ERK signaling upregulates AFF-1 expression in the excretory duct tube to promote tube auto-fusion and subsequent lumen elongation. AFF-1 is required for scission of basal endocytic compartments and for apically directed exocytosis to extend the apical membrane. Lumen elongation also requires the transcytosis factor Rab11, but occurs independently of dynamin and clathrin. These results support a transcytosis model of seamless tube lumen growth and show that cell-cell fusogens also can play roles in intracellular membrane trafficking events.
Medical subject headings
- Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
- Cell Fusion
- Endocytosis