Collagen IV and basement membrane at the evolutionary dawn of metazoan tissues
Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: The role of the cellular microenvironment in enabling metazoan tissue genesis remains obscure. Ctenophora has recently emerged as one of the earliest-branching extant animal phyla, providing a unique opportunity to explore the evolutionary role of the cellular microenvironment in tissue genesis. Here, we characterized the extracellular matrix (ECM), with a focus on collagen IV and its variant, spongin short-chain collagens, of non-bilaterian animal phyla. We identified basement membrane (BM) and collagen IV in Ctenophora, and show that the structural and genomic features of collagen IV are homologous to those of non-bilaterian animal phyla and Bilateria. Yet, ctenophore features are more diverse and distinct, expressing up to twenty genes compared to six in vertebrates. Moreover, collagen IV is absent in unicellular sister-groups. Collectively, we conclude that collagen IV and its variant, spongin, are primordial components of the extracellular microenvironment, and as a component of BM, collagen IV enabled the assembly of a fundamental architectural unit for multicellular tissue genesis.
Source: eLife
DOI: 10.7554/elife.24176
Language: English
Subfield: Animal Science and Zoology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,500
Funders: National Science Foundation, March of Dimes Foundation, Vanderbilt University, Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, National Institutes of Health, March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center Ohio Collaborative, National Eye Institute, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Awards: Studies on the Structure of Basement Membranes, Renal Biology and Disease Training Program, Vanderbilt Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center, G3416501184, Vanderbilt O'Brien Kidney Center, Novel Integrated Analyses of Human Diabetic Nephropathy, Vanderbilt Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center, G5132347646, Diabetes Research and Training Center, G5853943267, G6297262231, DIMENSIONS: Collaborative Research: The Making of Biodiversity Across the Yeast Subphylum, G9000002043, G9000106052, G9000165932, G9000198160, Molecular and Cellular Basis for Digestive Diseases, Studies on the structure of basement membranes, Cancer Center Support Grant, Vanderbilt Diabetes Research Center, Core Grant in Vision Research
OpenAlex ID: W2606650357