Activation of Snake in a serine protease cascade that defines the dorsoventral axis is atypical and pipe-independent in Drosophila embryos

Pamela W. Steen, Sufang Tian, Sarah E. Tully, Benjamin F. Cravatt, Ellen K. LeMosy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

During Drosophila embryogenesis, establishment of ventral and lateral cell fates requires spatial regulation of an extracellular serine protease cascade composed of Nudel, Gastrulation Defective (GD), Snake, and Easter. Pipe, a sulfotransferase expressed ventrally during oogenesis, sulfates secreted targets that somehow confer positive spatial input to this cascade. Nudel and GD activation are pipe-independent, while Easter activation requires pipe. The effect of pipe on Snake activation has been unknown. Here we show that Snake activation is cascade-dependent but pipe-independent. These findings support a conclusion that Snake's activation of Easter is the first spatially regulated step in the dorsoventral protease cascade.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3557-3560
Number of pages4
JournalFEBS Letters
Volume584
Issue number16
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2010

Keywords

  • Dorsoventral polarity
  • Drosophila
  • Embryogenesis
  • Fluorophosphonate (FP)-rhodamine
  • Serine protease
  • Snake

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biophysics
  • Structural Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Cell Biology

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