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Entosis Controls a Developmental Cell Clearance in C. elegans.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Type

Article

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Authors

Lee, Yongchan 
Hamann, Jens C 
Pellegrino, Mark 
Durgan, Joanne 
Domart, Marie-Charlotte  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5703-2922

Abstract

Metazoan cell death mechanisms are diverse and include numerous non-apoptotic programs. One program called entosis involves the invasion of live cells into their neighbors and is known to occur in cancers. Here, we identify a developmental function for entosis: to clear the male-specific linker cell in C. elegans. The linker cell leads migration to shape the gonad and is removed to facilitate fusion of the gonad to the cloaca. We find that the linker cell is cleared in a manner involving cell-cell adhesions and cell-autonomous control of uptake through linker cell actin. Linker cell entosis generates a lobe structure that is deposited at the site of gonad-to-cloaca fusion and is removed during mating. Inhibition of lobe scission inhibits linker cell death, demonstrating that the linker cell invades its host while alive. Our findings demonstrate a developmental function for entosis: to eliminate a migrating cell and facilitate gonad-to-cloaca fusion, which is required for fertility.

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Keywords

cell adhesion, cell cannibalism, engulfment, entosis, entotic cell death, gonad, linker cell death, lobe, scission, uropod, Animals, Caenorhabditis elegans, Cell Adhesion, Cell Communication, Entosis

Journal Title

Cell Rep

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2211-1247
2211-1247

Volume Title

26

Publisher

Elsevier BV