Consensus furin cleavage sites in the cuticular collagens DPY-17 and SQT-3 are required for Q neuroblast left-right asymmetric migration in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Abstract

Previous studies showed that the apically secreted cuticular collagens DPY-17 , SQT-3 , and DPY-14 control the left-right asymmetric migration of the Q neuroblasts in Caenorhabditis. elegans . Furthermore, apical secretion of DPY-17 and SQT-3 require the BLI-4 proprotein convertase of the subtilisin/kexin family and the consensus furin cleavage site (CFCS) in the N-terminus of DPY-17 and SQT-3 . Work here shows that the CFCS sites of DPY-17 and SQT-3 are required for their roles in Q neuroblast migration. bli-4 mutants had only weak effects on Q neuroblast migration, possibly due to redundancy among isoforms. These results suggest that apical secretion of cuticular collagens is required for Q neuroblast migration. These collagens might themselves provide left-right asymmetric guidance information, or might regulate another aspect of Q cell interaction with the cuticle, such as adhesion.