10779/crick.11371878.v1
Yongchan Lee
Yongchan
Lee
Jens C Hamann
Jens C
Hamann
Mark Pellegrino
Mark
Pellegrino
Joanne Durgan
Joanne
Durgan
Marie-Charlotte Domart
Marie-Charlotte
Domart
Lucy M Collinson
Lucy M
Collinson
Cole M Haynes
Cole M
Haynes
Oliver Florey
Oliver
Florey
Michael Overholtzer
Michael
Overholtzer
Entosis controls a developmental cell clearance in C. elegans
The Francis Crick Institute
2019
cell adhesion
cell cannibalism
engulfment
entosis
entotic cell death
gonad
linker cell death
lobe
scission
uropod
EM
0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology
2019-12-16 17:37:17
Journal contribution
https://crick.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Entosis_controls_a_developmental_cell_clearance_in_C_elegans/11371878
Metazoan cell death mechanisms are diverse and include numerous non-apoptotic programs. One program called entosis involves the invasion of live cells into their neighbors and is known to occur in cancers. Here, we identify a developmental function for entosis: to clear the male-specific linker cell in C. elegans. The linker cell leads migration to shape the gonad and is removed to facilitate fusion of the gonad to the cloaca. We find that the linker cell is cleared in a manner involving cell-cell adhesions and cell-autonomous control of uptake through linker cell actin. Linker cell entosis generates a lobe structure that is deposited at the site of gonad-to-cloaca fusion and is removed during mating. Inhibition of lobe scission inhibits linker cell death, demonstrating that the linker cell invades its host while alive. Our findings demonstrate a developmental function for entosis: to eliminate a migrating cell and facilitate gonad-to-cloaca fusion, which is required for fertility.