Despite their importance in cell shape and polarity generation, the organization of microtubules in differentiated cells and tissues remains relatively unexplored in mammals. We generated transgenic mice in which the epidermis expresses a fluorescently labeled microtubule-binding protein and show that in epidermis and in cultured keratinocytes, microtubules stereotypically reorganize as they differentiate. In basal cells, microtubules form a cytoplasmic network emanating from an apical centrosome. In suprabasal cells, microtubules concentrate at cell–cell junctions. The centrosome retains its ability to nucleate microtubules in differentiated cells, but no longer anchors them. During epidermal differentiation, ninein, which is a centrosomal protein required for microtubule anchoring (Dammermann, A., and A. Merdes. 2002. J. Cell Biol. 159:255–266; Delgehyr, N., J. Sillibourne, and M. Bornens. 2005. J. Cell Sci. 118:1565–1575; Mogensen, M.M., A. Malik, M. Piel, V. Bouckson-Castaing, and M. Bornens. 2000. J. Cell Sci. 113:3013–3023), is lost from the centrosome and is recruited to desmosomes by desmoplakin (DP). Loss of DP prevents accumulation of cortical microtubules in vivo and in vitro. Our work uncovers a differentiation-specific rearrangement of the microtubule cytoskeleton in epidermis, and defines an essential role for DP in the process.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
15 January 2007
Report|
January 16 2007
Desmoplakin: an unexpected regulator of microtubule organization in the epidermis
Terry Lechler,
Terry Lechler
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021
Search for other works by this author on:
Elaine Fuchs
Elaine Fuchs
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021
Search for other works by this author on:
Terry Lechler
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021
Elaine Fuchs
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021
Correspondence to Elaine Fuchs: [email protected]
T. Lechler's present address is Dept. of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710.
Abbreviations used in this paper: DP, desmoplakin; e, embryonic day; IF, intermediate filament; mk, mouse keratinocyte; MTOC, microtubule-organizing center.
Received:
September 18 2006
Accepted:
December 08 2006
Online ISSN: 1540-8140
Print ISSN: 0021-9525
The Rockefeller University Press
2007
J Cell Biol (2007) 176 (2): 147–154.
Article history
Received:
September 18 2006
Accepted:
December 08 2006
Citation
Terry Lechler, Elaine Fuchs; Desmoplakin: an unexpected regulator of microtubule organization in the epidermis . J Cell Biol 15 January 2007; 176 (2): 147–154. doi: https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.200609109
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionEmail alerts
Advertisement
Advertisement