Work

The C. elegans pharyngeal basement membrane has a high affinity for binding agrin

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Basement membranes (BMs) are dense, sheet-like extracellular matrices that surround animal tissues and provide mechanical and signaling functions.Tissue BMs are compositionally unique, with the presence and abundance of numerous components tailored to meet tissue-specific needs.How BMs establish and maintain distinct compositions remains poorly understood.Here, we investigate how the BM protein agrin is uniquely concentrated in the C. elegans pharyngeal BM.Through tissue-specific expression and live imaging, our results suggest that a combination of pharyngeal-specific expression and high BM affinity for binding agrin ensures the unique enrichment of agrin in the pharyngeal BM.

Source: microPublication biology

DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.002449

Authors: C. Teresa Ibeanu, Sandhya Srinivasan, Qiuyi Chi, David R. Sherwood

Institution: Duke University

Language: English

Topic: Cellular Mechanics and Interactions

Subfield: Cell Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: Wellcome Trust, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Awards: How do tissues connect? Elucidating a newly identified matrix adhesion system, How do tissues connect? Elucidating a newly identified matrix adhesion system, Understanding how cells invade through basement membrane in vivo