

Cellular migration and differentiation are important developmental processes that require dynamic cellular adhesion. Integrins are heterodimeric transmembrane receptors that play key roles in adhesion plasticity. Here, we explore the developing visual system of Drosophila to study the roles of integrin heterodimers in glia development. Our data show that αPS2 is essential for retinal glia migration from the brain into the eye disc and that glial cells have a role in the maintenance of the fenestrated membrane (Laminin-rich ECM layer) in the disc. Interestingly, the absence of glial cells in the eye disc did not affect the targeting of retinal axons to the optic stalk. In contrast, αPS3 is not required for retinal glia migration, but together with Talin, it functions in glial cells to allow photoreceptor axons to target the optic stalk. Thus, we present evidence that αPS2 and αPS3 integrin have different and specific functions in the development of retinal glia. GLIA 2015;63:1155-1165 Main Points: Glial cells require PS2 integrin (αPS2/βPS) expression for migration into the eye imaginal disc. Expression of PS3 integrin (αPS3/βPS) in glia is required to allow photoreceptor axonal targeting to the optic stalk. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
| EMTREE drug terms: | alpha integrinalpha ps2 integrinalpha ps3 integrinCD8 antigendouble stranded RNAepidermal growth factor receptorheterodimerintegrinlamininlaminin Alatency associated nuclear antigenps2 integrinps3 integrintalinunclassified drugalpha integrinalpha PS3 integrin, DrosophilaDrosophila proteinif protein, Drosophilatalin |
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| EMTREE medical terms: | animal experimentanimal modelantibody labelingArticlebasement membranecell adhesioncell differentiationcell migrationcontrolled studyDrosophila melanogasterextracellular matrixeye developmentgenotypeglia cellimaginal discimmunohistochemistrymolecular interactionnerve fibernervous system developmentnonhumanoptic diskoptic lobeperipheral nervephotoreceptorpriority journalprotein expressionprotein localizationRNA interferencesignal transductiontransmission electron microscopyanimalcell communicationDrosophilageneticsgliametabolismphotoreceptor cellphysiologytransgenic animal |
| MeSH: | AnimalsAnimals, Genetically ModifiedAxonsCell CommunicationDrosophilaDrosophila ProteinsImmunohistochemistryIntegrin alpha ChainsMicroscopy, Electron, TransmissionNeurogliaPhotoreceptor Cells, VertebrateRNA InterferenceTalin |
epidermal growth factor receptor, 79079-06-4; laminin, 2408-79-9;
alpha PS3 integrin, Drosophila; Drosophila Proteins; if protein, Drosophila; Integrin alpha Chains; Talin
Pereira, P.S.; Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Portugal
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