Intercellular Coupling Amplifies Fate Segregation during Caenorhabditis elegans Vulval Development

During vulval development in Caenorhabditis elegans, six precursor cells acquire a spatial pattern of distinct cell fates. This process is guided by a gradient in the soluble factor, LIN-3, and by direct interactions between neighboring cells mediated by the Notch-like receptor, LIN-12. Genetic evid...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2006-01, Vol.103 (5), p.1331-1336
Main Authors: Giurumescu, Claudiu A., Sternberg, Paul W., Asthagiri, Anand R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological Sciences
Body Patterning
Caenorhabditis elegans
Caenorhabditis elegans - embryology
Caenorhabditis elegans - physiology
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - metabolism
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - physiology
Cell Communication
Cell Differentiation
Cell Lineage
Cell separation
Cells
Cellular biology
Comparators
Epidermal Growth Factor - metabolism
Female
Insects
Kinetics
Ligands
Male
Mathematical models
Membrane Proteins - metabolism
Modeling
Models, Biological
Models, Theoretical
Perception
Phenotypes
Prenatal development
Receptors
Receptors, Notch
Signal amplification
Signal Transduction
Stem cells
Vulva - embryology
Vulva - physiology
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Summary:During vulval development in Caenorhabditis elegans, six precursor cells acquire a spatial pattern of distinct cell fates. This process is guided by a gradient in the soluble factor, LIN-3, and by direct interactions between neighboring cells mediated by the Notch-like receptor, LIN-12. Genetic evidence has revealed that these two extracellular signals are coupled: lateral cell-cell interactions inhibit LIN-3-mediated signaling, whereas LIN-3 regulates the extent of lateral signaling. To elucidate the quantitative implications of this coupled network topology for cell patterning during vulval development, we developed a mathematical model of LIN-3/LIN12-mediated signaling in the vulval precursor cell array. Our analysis reveals that coupling LIN-3 and LIN-12 amplifies cellular perception of the LIN-3 gradient and polarizes lateral signaling, both of which enhance fate segregation beyond that achievable by an uncoupled system.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0506476103