Nature Communications (Apr 2016)

Microtubule-dependent balanced cell contraction and luminal-matrix modification accelerate epithelial tube fusion

  • Kagayaki Kato,
  • Bo Dong,
  • Housei Wada,
  • Miho Tanaka-Matakatsu,
  • Yoshimasa Yagi,
  • Shigeo Hayashi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11141
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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During tracheal tube fusion in Drosophila, a pair of tip cells form an adherens junction and then fuse their plasma membranes. Here the authors show that a balanced pulling force mediated by myosin and microtubules, as well as localized deposition of matrix, promotes plasma membrane fusion.