Scholars@Duke
David R. Sherwood

David R. Sherwood

Professor of Biology
Biology
david.sherwood@duke.edu
Duke Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708-1000
Box 90338, Department of Biology, Durham, NC 27708

Selected Publications

De novo lipid synthesis and polarized prenylation drive cell invasion through basement membrane.

Journal Article The Journal of cell biology · October 2024 To breach the basement membrane, cells in development and cancer use large, transient, specialized lipid-rich membrane protrusions. Using live imaging, endogenous protein tagging, and cell-specific RNAi during Caenorhabditis elegans anchor cell (AC) invasi ... Full text Cite

Basement membrane dynamics in living animals: Insights and pitfalls.

Journal Article The Journal of cell biology · July 2024 Recent studies with fluorophore-tagged basement membrane (BM) components have led to remarkable discoveries about BMs but also inconsistent interpretations. Here, we review types of BM dynamics, discuss how we conduct and interpret fluorophore-tagged BM st ... Full text Cite

The C. elegans anchor cell: A model to elucidate mechanisms underlying invasion through basement membrane.

Journal Article Seminars in cell & developmental biology · February 2024 Cell invasion through basement membrane barriers is crucial during many developmental processes and in immune surveillance. Dysregulation of invasion also drives the pathology of numerous human diseases, such as metastasis and inflammatory disorders. Cell ... Full text Cite

Chronic high-sugar diet in adulthood protects Caenorhabditis elegans from 6-OHDA-induced dopaminergic neurodegeneration.

Journal Article BMC biology · November 2023 BackgroundDiets high in saturated fat and sugar, termed "Western diets," have been associated with several negative health outcomes, including increased risk for neurodegenerative disease. Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neur ... Full text Cite

Reciprocal discoidin domain receptor signaling strengthens integrin adhesion to connect adjacent tissues

Journal Article eLife · July 5, 2023 Separate tissues connect through adjoining basement membranes to carry out molecular barrier, exchange, and organ support functions. Cell adhesion at these connections must be robust and balanced to withstand independent tissue movement. Yet, how c ... Full text Cite

The Caenorhabditis elegans anchor cell transcriptome: ribosome biogenesis drives cell invasion through basement membrane.

Journal Article Development (Cambridge, England) · May 2023 Cell invasion through basement membrane (BM) barriers is important in development, immune function and cancer progression. As invasion through BM is often stochastic, capturing gene expression profiles of actively invading cells in vivo remains elusive. Us ... Full text Cite

Hemicentin-mediated type IV collagen assembly strengthens juxtaposed basement membrane linkage.

Journal Article The Journal of cell biology · January 2023 Basement membrane (BM) matrices surround and separate most tissues. However, through poorly understood mechanisms, BMs of adjacent tissue can also stably link to support organ structure and function. Using endogenous knock-in fluorescent proteins, conditio ... Full text Cite

Translational regulation of cell invasion through extracellular matrix—an emerging role for ribosomes

Journal Article · 2023 Many developmental and physiological processes require cells to invade and migrate through extracellular matrix barriers. This specialized cellular behavior is also misregulated in many diseases, such as immune disorders and cancer. Cell invasive activity ... Full text Cite

Translational regulation of cell invasion through extracellular matrix-an emerging role for ribosomes.

Journal Article F1000Research · January 2023 Many developmental and physiological processes require cells to invade and migrate through extracellular matrix barriers. This specialized cellular behavior is also misregulated in many diseases, such as immune disorders and cancer. Cell invasive activity ... Full text Cite

Visualizing cytoplasmic ATP in C. elegans larvae using PercevalHR.

Journal Article STAR protocols · June 2022 Measuring ATP levels within the cytosol of living cells in animals is important to understand how cellular activities are energetically supported, but is challenging because of tissue complexity and ATP sensor limitations. In this protocol, we describe how ... Full text Cite

A basement membrane discovery pipeline uncovers network complexity, regulators, and human disease associations.

Journal Article Science advances · May 2022 Basement membranes (BMs) are ubiquitous extracellular matrices whose composition remains elusive, limiting our understanding of BM regulation and function. By developing a bioinformatic and in vivo discovery pipeline, we define a network of 222 human prote ... Full text Cite

Localized glucose import, glycolytic processing, and mitochondria generate a focused ATP burst to power basement-membrane invasion.

Journal Article Developmental cell · March 2022 Invasive cells use transient, energy-consuming protrusions to breach basement membrane (BM) barriers. Using the ATP sensor PercevalHR during anchor cell (AC) invasion in Caenorhabditis elegans, we show that BM invasion is accompanied by an ATP burst from m ... Full text Cite

A light sheet fluorescence microscopy protocol for Caenorhabditis elegans larvae and adults.

Journal Article Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · January 2022 Light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) has become a method of choice for live imaging because of its fast acquisition and reduced photobleaching and phototoxicity. Despite the strengths and growing availability of LSFM systems, no generalized LSFM moun ... Full text Cite

Basement membrane remodeling guides cell migration and cell morphogenesis during development.

Journal Article Current opinion in cell biology · October 2021 Basement membranes (BMs) are thin, dense forms of extracellular matrix that underlie or surround most animal tissues. BMs are enormously complex and harbor numerous proteins that provide essential signaling, mechanical, and barrier support for tissues duri ... Full text Cite

Fueling Cell Invasion through Extracellular Matrix.

Journal Article Trends in cell biology · June 2021 Featured Publication Cell invasion through extracellular matrix (ECM) has pivotal roles in cell dispersal during development, immune cell trafficking, and cancer metastasis. Many elegant studies have revealed the specialized cellular protrusions, proteases, and distinct modes ... Full text Cite

Hemicentin mediated type IV collagen assembly strengthens juxtaposed basement membrane linkage

Journal Article · 2021 Basement membrane (BM) matrices surround and separate most tissues. However, through poorly understood mechanisms, BMs of adjacent tissues can also stably link to support organ structure and function. Using endogenous knock-in fluorescent proteins, conditi ... Full text Cite

Comprehensive Endogenous Tagging of Basement Membrane Components Reveals Dynamic Movement within the Matrix Scaffolding.

Journal Article Developmental cell · July 2020 Basement membranes (BMs) are supramolecular matrices built on laminin and type IV collagen networks that provide structural and signaling support to tissues. BM complexity, however, has hindered an understanding of its formation, dynamics, and regulation. ... Full text Cite

Stem cell niche exit in C. elegans via orientation and segregation of daughter cells by a cryptic cell outside the niche.

Journal Article eLife · July 2020 Stem cells reside in and rely upon their niche to maintain stemness but must balance self-renewal with the production of daughters that leave the niche to differentiate. We discovered a mechanism of stem cell niche exit in the canonical C. elegans d ... Full text Cite

Mammalian hemicentin 1 is assembled into tracks in the extracellular matrix of multiple tissues.

Journal Article Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists · June 2020 BackgroundHemicentins (HMCNs) are a family of extracellular matrix proteins first identified in Caenorhabditis elegans, with two orthologs (HMCN1 and 2) in vertebrates. In worms, HMCN is deposited at specific sites where it forms long, fine tracks ... Full text Cite

MANF deletion abrogates early larval Caenorhabditis elegans stress response to tunicamycin and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Journal Article European journal of cell biology · December 2019 Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) is the only human neurotrophic factor with an evolutionarily-conserved C. elegans homolog, Y54G2A.23 or manf-1. MANF is a small, soluble, endoplasmic-reticulum (ER)-resident protein that is secrete ... Full text Cite

Endogenous expression of UNC-59/Septin in C.elegans.

Journal Article microPublication biology · December 2019 Full text Cite

α-Integrins dictate distinct modes of type IV collagen recruitment to basement membranes.

Journal Article The Journal of cell biology · September 2019 Basement membranes (BMs) are cell-associated extracellular matrices that support tissue integrity, signaling, and barrier properties. Type IV collagen is critical for BM function, yet how it is directed into BMs in vivo is unclear. Through live-cell imagin ... Full text Cite

Breaching the Basement Membrane David R. Sherwood

Journal Article DEVELOPMENTAL CELL · May 20, 2019 Link to item Cite

Ectopic Germ Cells Can Induce Niche-like Enwrapment by Neighboring Body Wall Muscle.

Journal Article Current biology : CB · March 2019 Niche cell enwrapment of stem cells and their differentiating progeny is common and provides a specialized signaling and protective environment. Elucidating the mechanisms underlying enwrapment behavior has important basic and clinical significance in not ... Full text Cite

Adaptive F-Actin Polymerization and Localized ATP Production Drive Basement Membrane Invasion in the Absence of MMPs.

Journal Article Developmental cell · February 2019 Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are associated with decreased patient prognosis but have failed as anti-invasive drug targets despite promoting cancer cell invasion. Through time-lapse imaging, optical highlighting, and combined genetic removal of the fiv ... Full text Cite

Tissue linkage through adjoining basement membranes: The long and the short term of it.

Journal Article Matrix biology : journal of the International Society for Matrix Biology · January 2019 Basement membranes (BMs) are thin dense sheets of extracellular matrix that surround most tissues. When the BMs of neighboring tissues come into contact, they usually slide along one another and act to separate tissues and organs into distinct compartments ... Full text Cite

A Scalable CURE Using a CRISPR/Cas9 Fluorescent Protein Knock-In Strategy in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Journal Article Journal of microbiology & biology education · January 2019 Genome editing with CRISPR/Cas9 technology has advanced from the lab bench to clinical application with multiple trials underway. This article introduces a course-based undergraduate experience (CURE) combining CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing (using a modified ... Full text Cite

The role of lipid metabolism in anchor cell invasion in C.elegans

Conference MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL · December 15, 2018 Link to item Cite

Nonselective autophagy reduces mitochondrial content during starvation in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Journal Article American journal of physiology. Cell physiology · December 2018 Starvation significantly alters cellular physiology, and signs of aging have been reported to occur during starvation. Mitochondria are essential to the regulation of cellular energetics and aging. We sought to determine whether mitochondria exhibit signs ... Full text Cite

Forces drive basement membrane invasion in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Journal Article Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · November 2018 During invasion, cells breach basement membrane (BM) barriers with actin-rich protrusions. It remains unclear, however, whether actin polymerization applies pushing forces to help break through BM, or whether actin filaments play a passive role as scaffold ... Full text Cite

Swimming Exercise and Transient Food Deprivation in Caenorhabditis elegans Promote Mitochondrial Maintenance and Protect Against Chemical-Induced Mitotoxicity.

Journal Article Scientific reports · May 2018 Exercise and caloric restriction improve health, including reducing risk of cardiovascular disease, neurological disease, and cancer. However, molecular mechanisms underlying these protections are poorly understood, partly due to the cost and time investme ... Full text Open Access Cite

Invading, Leading and Navigating Cells in Caenorhabditis elegans: Insights into Cell Movement in Vivo.

Journal Article Genetics · January 2018 Highly regulated cell migration events are crucial during animal tissue formation and the trafficking of cells to sites of infection and injury. Misregulation of cell movement underlies numerous human diseases, including cancer. Although originally studied ... Full text Cite

Cell Invasion In Vivo via Rapid Exocytosis of a Transient Lysosome-Derived Membrane Domain.

Journal Article Developmental cell · November 2017 Invasive cells use small invadopodia to breach basement membrane (BM), a dense matrix that encases tissues. Following the breach, a large protrusion forms to clear a path for tissue entry by poorly understood mechanisms. Using RNAi screening for defects in ... Full text Cite

Live-cell confocal microscopy and quantitative 4D image analysis of anchor-cell invasion through the basement membrane in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Journal Article Nature protocols · October 2017 Cell invasion through basement membrane (BM) barriers is crucial in development, leukocyte trafficking and the spread of cancer. The mechanisms that direct invasion, despite their importance in normal and disease states, are poorly understood, largely beca ... Full text Cite

Identification of regulators of germ stem cell enwrapment by its niche in C. elegans.

Journal Article Developmental biology · September 2017 Many stem cell niches contain support cells that increase contact with stem cells by enwrapping them in cellular processes. One example is the germ stem cell niche in C. elegans, which is composed of a single niche cell termed the distal tip cell (DTC) tha ... Full text Cite

Morphogenesis: Shaping Tissues through Extracellular Force Gradients.

Journal Article Current biology : CB · September 2017 Organ sculpting requires directed physical force generation. Force imbalances are primarily thought to arise from within cells. A new study, however, demonstrates that an extracellular-matrix-based stiffness gradient in the Drosophila egg chamber instructs ... Full text Cite

Basement membranes.

Journal Article Current biology : CB · March 2017 Basement membranes (BMs) are thin, dense sheets of specialized, self-assembled extracellular matrix that surround most animal tissues (Figure 1, top). The emergence of BMs coincided with the origin of multicellularity in animals, suggesting that they were ... Full text Cite

Breaching and Opening Basement Membrane Barriers: The Anchor Cell Leads the Way

Chapter · January 1, 2017 Metastasis is initiated in epithelial-derived tumors when cells at the tumor front breach the epithelial basement membrane (BM). Invasion through BMs is thought to be one of the most rate-limiting steps in cancer progression and thus is a therapeutically a ... Full text Cite

A new front in cell invasion: The invadopodial membrane.

Journal Article European journal of cell biology · November 2016 Invadopodia are F-actin-rich membrane protrusions that breach basement membrane barriers during cell invasion. Since their discovery more than 30 years ago, invadopodia have been extensively investigated in cancer cells in vitro, where great advances in un ... Full text Cite

Intracellular trafficking pathways in silver nanoparticle uptake and toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Journal Article Nanotoxicology · September 2016 We used the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to study the roles of endocytosis and lysosomal function in uptake and subsequent toxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) in vivo. To focus on AgNP uptake and effects rather than silver ion (AgNO3) effects, we us ... Full text Cite

Boundary cells restrict dystroglycan trafficking to control basement membrane sliding during tissue remodeling.

Journal Article eLife · September 2016 Epithelial cells and their underlying basement membranes (BMs) slide along each other to renew epithelia, shape organs, and enlarge BM openings. How BM sliding is controlled, however, is poorly understood. Using genetic and live cell imaging approaches dur ... Full text Cite

Tissue Sculpting by Fibrils.

Journal Article Developmental cell · July 2016 In this issue of Developmental Cell, Isabella and Horne-Badovinac (2016) show that Rab10 directs site-specific secretion of basement membrane components, which assemble into fibrils that spool out to elongate the Drosophila egg chamber. These findings esta ... Full text Cite

SPARC Promotes Cell Invasion In Vivo by Decreasing Type IV Collagen Levels in the Basement Membrane.

Journal Article PLoS genetics · February 2016 Overexpression of SPARC, a collagen-binding glycoprotein, is strongly associated with tumor invasion through extracellular matrix in many aggressive cancers. SPARC regulates numerous cellular processes including integrin-mediated cell adhesion, cell signal ... Full text Cite

A Sensitized Screen for Genes Promoting Invadopodia Function In Vivo: CDC-42 and Rab GDI-1 Direct Distinct Aspects of Invadopodia Formation.

Journal Article PLoS genetics · January 2016 Invadopodia are specialized membrane protrusions composed of F-actin, actin regulators, signaling proteins, and a dynamically trafficked invadopodial membrane that drive cell invasion through basement membrane (BM) barriers in development and cancer. Due t ... Full text Cite

Invasive Cell Fate Requires G1 Cell-Cycle Arrest and Histone Deacetylase-Mediated Changes in Gene Expression.

Journal Article Developmental cell · October 2015 Despite critical roles in development and cancer, the mechanisms that specify invasive cellular behavior are poorly understood. Through a screen of transcription factors in Caenorhabditis elegans, we identified G1 cell-cycle arrest as a precisely regulated ... Full text Cite

A developmental biologist's "outside-the-cell" thinking.

Journal Article The Journal of cell biology · August 2015 A major gap in our understanding of cell biology is how cells generate and interact with their surrounding extracellular matrix. Studying this problem during development has been particularly fruitful. Recent work on the basement membrane in developmental ... Full text Cite

The unfolded protein response is required for dendrite morphogenesis.

Journal Article eLife · June 2015 Precise patterning of dendritic fields is essential for the formation and function of neuronal circuits. During development, dendrites acquire their morphology by exuberant branching. How neurons cope with the increased load of protein production required ... Full text Cite

An active role for basement membrane assembly and modification in tissue sculpting.

Journal Article Journal of cell science · May 2015 Basement membranes are a dense, sheet-like form of extracellular matrix (ECM) that underlie epithelia and endothelia, and surround muscle, fat and Schwann cells. Basement membranes separate tissues and protect them from mechanical stress. Although traditio ... Full text Cite

RAB-10-Dependent Membrane Transport Is Required for Dendrite Arborization.

Journal Article PLoS genetics · January 2015 Formation of elaborately branched dendrites is necessary for the proper input and connectivity of many sensory neurons. Previous studies have revealed that dendritic growth relies heavily on ER-to-Golgi transport, Golgi outposts and endocytic recycling. Ho ... Full text Cite

Basement Membranes in the Worm: A Dynamic Scaffolding that Instructs Cellular Behaviors and Shapes Tissues.

Journal Article Current topics in membranes · January 2015 The nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans has all the major basement membrane proteins found in vertebrates, usually with a smaller gene family encoding each component. With its powerful forward genetics, optical clarity, simple tissue organization, and the ... Full text Cite

Repurposing an endogenous degradation system for rapid and targeted depletion of C. elegans proteins.

Journal Article Development (Cambridge, England) · December 2014 The capability to conditionally inactivate gene function is essential for understanding the molecular basis of development. In gene and mRNA targeting approaches, protein products can perdure, complicating genetic analysis. Current methods for selective pr ... Full text Cite

Cell cycle arrest is required for cell invasive behavior.

Conference MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL · December 1, 2014 Link to item Cite

B-LINK: a hemicentin, plakin, and integrin-dependent adhesion system that links tissues by connecting adjacent basement membranes.

Journal Article Developmental cell · November 2014 Basement membrane (BM), a sheet-like form of extracellular matrix, surrounds most tissues. During organogenesis, specific adhesions between adjoining tissues frequently occur; however, their molecular basis is unclear. Using live-cell imaging and electron ... Full text Cite

Should I stay or should I go? Identification of novel nutritionally regulated developmental checkpoints in C. elegans.

Journal Article Worm · October 2014 After embryogenesis, developing organisms typically secure their own nutrients to enable further growth. The fitness of an organism depends on developing when food is abundant and slowing or stopping development during periods of scarcity. Although several ... Full text Cite

MIG-10 (Lamellipodin) stabilizes invading cell adhesion to basement membrane and is a negative transcriptional target of EGL-43 in C. elegans.

Journal Article Biochemical and biophysical research communications · September 2014 Cell invasion through basement membrane (BM) occurs in many physiological and pathological contexts. MIG-10, the Caenorhabditis elegans Lamellipodin (Lpd), regulates diverse biological processes. Its function and regulation in cell invasive behavior remain ... Full text Cite

UNC-6 (netrin) stabilizes oscillatory clustering of the UNC-40 (DCC) receptor to orient polarity

Journal Article The Journal of Cell Biology · August 25, 2014 The receptor deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC) directs dynamic polarizing activities in animals toward its extracellular ligand netrin. How DCC polarizes toward netrin is poorly understood. By performing live-cell imaging of the DCC orthologue UNC-40 duri ... Full text Open Access Cite

Identification of late larval stage developmental checkpoints in Caenorhabditis elegans regulated by insulin/IGF and steroid hormone signaling pathways.

Journal Article PLoS genetics · June 2014 Organisms in the wild develop with varying food availability. During periods of nutritional scarcity, development may slow or arrest until conditions improve. The ability to modulate developmental programs in response to poor nutritional conditions require ... Full text Open Access Cite

Cell division and targeted cell cycle arrest opens and stabilizes basement membrane gaps.

Journal Article Nature communications · June 2014 Large gaps in basement membrane (BM) occur during organ remodelling and cancer cell invasion. Whether dividing cells, which temporarily reduce their attachment to BM, influence these breaches is unknown. Here we analyse uterine-vulval attachment during dev ... Full text Cite

Invadopodia and basement membrane invasion in vivo.

Journal Article Cell adhesion & migration · May 2014 Over 20 years ago, protrusive, F-actin-based membrane structures, termed invadopodia, were identified in highly metastatic cancer cell lines. Invadopodia penetrate artificial or explanted extracellular matrices in 2D culture conditions and have been hypoth ... Full text Cite

In situ imaging in C. elegans reveals developmental regulation of microtubule dynamics.

Journal Article Developmental cell · April 2014 Microtubules (MTs) are cytoskeletal polymers that undergo dynamic instability, the stochastic transition between growth and shrinkage phases. MT dynamics are required for diverse cellular processes and, while intrinsic to tubulin, are highly regulated. How ... Full text Cite

MIG-10 (lamellipodin) has netrin-independent functions and is a FOS-1A transcriptional target during anchor cell invasion in C. elegans.

Journal Article Development (Cambridge, England) · March 2014 To transmigrate basement membrane, cells must coordinate distinct signaling activities to breach and pass through this dense extracellular matrix barrier. Netrin expression and activity are strongly associated with invasion in developmental and pathologica ... Full text Cite

ADF/cofilin promotes invadopodial membrane recycling during cell invasion in vivo.

Journal Article The Journal of cell biology · March 2014 Invadopodia are protrusive, F-actin-driven membrane structures that are thought to mediate basement membrane transmigration during development and tumor dissemination. An understanding of the mechanisms regulating invadopodia has been hindered by the diffi ... Full text Cite

Traversing the basement membrane in vivo: a diversity of strategies.

Journal Article The Journal of cell biology · February 2014 The basement membrane is a dense, highly cross-linked, sheet-like extracellular matrix that underlies all epithelia and endothelia in multicellular animals. During development, leukocyte trafficking, and metastatic disease, cells cross the basement membran ... Full text Cite

Cell invasion through basement membrane: The netrin receptor DCC guides the way.

Journal Article Worm · July 2013 Cell invasion through basement membrane is an essential part of normal development and physiology, and occurs during the pathological progression of human inflammatory diseases and cancer. F-actin-rich membrane protrusions, called invadopodia, have been hy ... Full text Cite

The netrin receptor DCC focuses invadopodia-driven basement membrane transmigration in vivo.

Journal Article The Journal of cell biology · June 2013 Though critical to normal development and cancer metastasis, how cells traverse basement membranes is poorly understood. A central impediment has been the challenge of visualizing invasive cell interactions with basement membrane in vivo. By developing liv ... Full text Cite

The evolution of anchor cell invasion during rhabditid nematode vulval development

Conference INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY · April 1, 2013 Link to item Cite

MMP-Independent Mechanisms of Basement Membrane Breaching In Vivo

Conference MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL · January 1, 2013 Link to item Cite

Characterizing the role of CDC-42 in cell invasion through basement membrane

Conference MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL · January 1, 2013 Link to item Cite

MMP-Independent Mechanisms of Basement Membrane Breaching In Vivo

Conference MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL · 2013 Cite

Morphogenesis of the caenorhabditis elegans vulva.

Journal Article Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Developmental biology · January 2013 Understanding how cells move, change shape, and alter cellular behaviors to form organs, a process termed morphogenesis, is one of the great challenges of developmental biology. Formation of the Caenorhabditis elegans vulva is a powerful, simple, and exper ... Full text Cite

Exploring microtubule dynamics in vivo and its role in tissue biogenesis

Conference MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL · January 1, 2012 Link to item Cite

Cell Cycle Arrest is Required For Cell Invasion Through Basement Membranes

Conference MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL · January 1, 2012 Link to item Cite

The UNC-40(DCC) Receptor Mediates a Morphogenetic Switch that Directs C. elegans Anchor Cell Invasion Across Basement Membrane

Journal Article Nature Cell Biology · 2012 Though critical to cancer metastasis, how cells traverse basement membrane (BM) barriers remains poorly understood. We have used time-lapse imaging during C. elegans uterine-vulval connection to capture the entire BM invasion process mediated by the uteri ... Cite

Netrin Stabilizes UNC-40(DCC)-Generated Oscillatory Polarity to Direct Anchor Cell Invasion in C. elegans

Journal Article Cell · 2012 Asymmetrical localization of cellular constituents in the specific membrane domains is a critical step for many biological processes, including cell invasion through basement membrane (BM). Netrin signaling mediates the formation of a variety of specialize ... Cite

Cell invasion through basement membrane: the anchor cell breaches the barrier.

Journal Article Current opinion in cell biology · October 2011 Cell invasion through basement membrane (BM) is a specialized cellular behavior critical to many normal developmental events, immune surveillance, and cancer metastasis. A highly dynamic process, cell invasion involves a complex interplay between cell-intr ... Full text Cite

The transcription factor HLH-2/E/Daughterless regulates anchor cell invasion across basement membrane in C. elegans.

Journal Article Developmental biology · September 2011 Cell invasion through basement membrane is a specialized cellular behavior critical for many developmental processes and leukocyte trafficking. Invasive cellular behavior is also inappropriately co-opted during cancer progression. Acquisition of an invasiv ... Full text Cite

Basement membrane sliding and targeted adhesion remodels tissue boundaries during uterine-vulval attachment in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Journal Article Nature Cell Biology · June 2011 Large gaps in basement membrane occur at sites of cell invasion and tissue remodelling in development and cancer. Though never followed directly in vivo, basement membrane dissolution or reduced synthesis have been postulated to create these gaps. Using la ... Full text Cite

Dissection of genetic pathways in C. elegans.

Journal Article Methods in cell biology · January 2011 With unique genetic and cell biological strengths, C. elegans has emerged as a powerful model system for studying many biological processes. These processes are typically regulated by complex genetic networks consisting of genes. Identifying those genes an ... Full text Cite

Science signaling podcast: 11 May 2010

Journal Article Science Signaling · May 11, 2010 Full text Cite

Roles for netrin signaling outside of axon guidance: a view from the worm.

Journal Article Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists · May 2010 The Netrin family of extracellular ligands and their receptors were the first identified signaling pathway regulating axon guidance. Subsequent work across model systems has begun to reveal the interactions that take place downstream of Netrin reception to ... Full text Cite

In vivo identification of regulators of cell invasion across basement membranes.

Journal Article Science signaling · 2010 Cell invasion through basement membranes during development, immune surveillance, and metastasis remains poorly understood. To gain further insight into this key cellular behavior, we performed an in vivo screen for regulators of cell invasion through base ... Full text Cite

Science Signaling Podcast: 11 May 2010

Journal Article Science Signaling · 2010 Cite

An expression screen for RhoGEF genes involved in C. elegans gonadogenesis.

Journal Article Gene expression patterns : GEP · September 2009 The gonad in Caenorhabditis elegans is an important model system for understanding complex morphogenetic processes including cellular movement, cell fusion, cell invasion and cell polarity during development. One class of signaling proteins known to be cri ... Full text Cite

Integrin acts upstream of netrin signaling to regulate formation of the anchor cell's invasive membrane in C. elegans.

Journal Article Developmental cell · August 2009 Integrin expression and activity have been strongly correlated with developmental and pathological processes involving cell invasion through basement membranes. The role of integrins in mediating these invasions, however, remains unclear. Utilizing the gen ... Full text Cite

David Sherwood: invasive procedures. Interview by Ben Short.

Journal Article The Journal of cell biology · May 2009 Cite

UNC-6 (netrin) orients the invasive membrane of the anchor cell in C. elegans.

Journal Article Nature cell biology · February 2009 Despite their profound importance in the development of cancer, the extracellular cues that target cell invasion through basement membrane barriers remain poorly understood. A central obstacle has been the difficulty of studying the interactions between in ... Full text Cite

Cell invasion through basement membranes: an anchor of understanding.

Journal Article Trends in cell biology · May 2006 To metastasize, cancer cells must acquire the ability to breach several basement membrane barriers. Cell invasions through basement membranes also occur during normal development and immune system function, enabling organ formation and cell dispersal. The ... Full text Cite

FOS-1 promotes basement-membrane removal during anchor-cell invasion in C. elegans.

Journal Article Cell · June 2005 Cell invasion through basement membranes is crucial during morphogenesis and cancer metastasis. Here, we genetically dissect this process during anchor-cell invasion into the vulval epithelium in C. elegans. We have identified the fos transcription factor ... Cite

Anchor cell invasion into the vulval epithelium in C. elegans.

Journal Article Developmental cell · July 2003 An understanding of cell-invasive behavior has been limited by the lack of in vivo models where this activity can be clearly visualized and manipulated. We show that a single cell in the Caenorhabditis elegans gonad, the anchor cell (AC), initiates uterine ... Full text Cite

Gene expression markers for Caenorhabditis elegans vulval cells.

Journal Article Mechanisms of development · December 2002 The analysis of cell fate patterning during the vulval development of Caenorhabditis elegans has relied mostly on the direct observation of cell divisions and cell movements (cell lineage analysis). However, reconstruction of the developing vulva from EM s ... Full text Cite

Gene expression markers for Caenorhabditis elegans vulval cells.

Journal Article Gene expression patterns : GEP · December 2002 The analysis of cell fate patterning during the vulval development of Caenorhabditis elegans has relied mostly on the direct observation of cell divisions and cell movements (cell lineage analysis). However, reconstruction of the developing vulva from EM s ... Full text Cite

Caenorhabditis elegans cog-1 locus encodes GTX/Nkx6.1 homeodomain proteins and regulates multiple aspects of reproductive system development.

Journal Article Developmental biology · December 2002 The development of the reproductive system in Caenorhabditis elegans is a well-established model system for patterning and organogenesis. We report the characterization of the cog-1 gene, mutations in which cause novel phenotypes in late patterning in vulv ... Full text Cite

LvNotch signaling plays a dual role in regulating the position of the ectoderm-endoderm boundary in the sea urchin embryo.

Journal Article Development (Cambridge, England) · June 2001 The molecular mechanisms guiding the positioning of the ectoderm-endoderm boundary along the animal-vegetal axis of the sea urchin embryo remain largely unknown. We report here a role for the sea urchin homolog of the Notch receptor, LvNotch, in mediating ... Full text Cite

Specification of mesoderm and endoderm during cleavage in sea urchin embryos

Conference REGULATORY PROCESSES IN DEVELOPMENT · January 1, 2000 Link to item Cite

LvNotch signaling mediates secondary mesenchyme specification in the sea urchin embryo.

Journal Article Development (Cambridge, England) · April 1999 Cell-cell interactions are thought to regulate the differential specification of secondary mesenchyme cells (SMCs) and endoderm in the sea urchin embryo. The molecular bases of these interactions, however, are unknown. We have previously shown that the sea ... Full text Cite

Notch signaling positions germ-layers in the sea urchin embryo

Conference MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL · November 1, 1997 Link to item Cite

Identification and localization of a sea urchin Notch homologue: insights into vegetal plate regionalization and Notch receptor regulation.

Journal Article Development (Cambridge, England) · September 1997 The specifications of cell types and germ-layers that arise from the vegetal plate of the sea urchin embryo are thought to be regulated by cell-cell interactions, the molecular basis of which are unknown. The Notch intercellular signaling pathway mediates ... Full text Cite

Axial specification in the sea urchin embryo.

Conference DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY · June 15, 1997 Link to item Cite

A sea urchin hedgehog homolog.

Conference DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY · May 1, 1996 Link to item Cite

Cell adhesion and cell signaling at gastrulation in the sea urchin

Journal Article Theriogenology · January 1, 1995 The sea urchin embryo follows a relatively simple cell behavioral sequence in its gastrulation movements. The embryo reaches the gastrula stage as a spherical monolayer of cells. To form the mesoderm, primary mesenchyme cells ingress by delaminating from t ... Full text Cite