Claudio Vinegoni, Ph.D. | Tyrosine kinase-mediated axial motility of basal cells revealed by intravital imaging

Nat. Commun.
Tyrosine kinase-mediated axial motility of basal cells revealed by intravital imaging

Roy, J., Kim, B., Hill, E., Visconti, P., Krapf, D., Vinegoni, C., Weissleder, R., Brown, D., and Breton^#, S.

Nature Communications 2016

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Epithelial cells are generally considered to be static relative to their neighbours. Basal cells in pseudostratified epithelia display a single long cytoplasmic process that can cross the tight junction barrier to reach the lumen. Using in vivo microscopy to visualize the epididymis, a model system for the study of pseudostratified epithelia, we report here the surprising discovery that these basal cell projections-which we call axiopodia-periodically extend and retract over time. We found that axiopodia extensions and retractions follow an oscillatory pattern. This movement, which we refer to as periodic axial motility (PAM), is controlled by c-Src and MEK1/2-ERK1/2. Therapeutic inhibition of tyrosine kinase activity induces a retraction of these projections. Such unexpected cell motility may reflect a novel mechanism by which specialized epithelial cells sample the luminal environment.
@article{2016-NCOMM-1, author= {Roy, J. and Kim, B. and Hill, E. and Visconti, P. and Krapf, D. and Vinegoni, C. and Weissleder, R. and Brown, D. and Breton<sup>#</sup>, S.}, title= {Tyrosine kinase-mediated axial motility of basal cells revealed by intravital imaging}, journal= {Nature Communications}, alternatejournal = {Nat. Commun.}, year = {2016}, volume = {7}, pages = {11}, doi = {10.1038/ncomms10666}, pmcid = {PMC4754344}, pmid= {26868824} }
26868824

PMC4754344

10.1038/ncomms10666

Abstract

"Epithelial cells are generally considered to be static relative to their neighbours. Basal cells in pseudostratified epithelia display a single long cytoplasmic process that can cross the tight junction barrier to reach the lumen. Using in vivo microscopy to visualize the epididymis, a model system for the study of pseudostratified epithelia, we report here the surprising discovery that these basal cell projections-which we call axiopodia-periodically extend and retract over time. We found that axiopodia extensions and retractions follow an oscillatory pattern. This movement, which we refer to as periodic axial motility (PAM), is controlled by c-Src and MEK1/2-ERK1/2. Therapeutic inhibition of tyrosine kinase activity induces a retraction of these projections. Such unexpected cell motility may reflect a novel mechanism by which specialized epithelial cells sample the luminal environment."

Full citation

For attribution in academic contexts, please cite this work as:

Roy, J., Kim, B., Hill, E., Visconti, P., Krapf, D., Vinegoni, C., Weissleder, R., Brown, D., & Breton^#, S. (2016). Tyrosine kinase-mediated axial motility of basal cells revealed by intravital imaging. Nature Communications, 7, 11. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10666