Open AccessPrecise coordination of cell-ECM adhesion is essential for efficient melanoblast migration during development
Author(s) -
Amanda Haage,
Kelsey Wagner,
Wenjun Deng,
Bhavya Venkatesh,
Caitlin Mitchell,
Katharine Goodwin,
Aaron Bogutz,
Louis Lefebvre,
Catherine D. Van Raamsdonk,
Guy Tanentzapf
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.754
H-Index - 325
eISSN - 1477-9129
pISSN - 0950-1991
DOI - 10.1242/dev.184234
Subject(s) - biology , cell adhesion , microbiology and biotechnology , cell migration , cell , computational biology , genetics
Melanoblasts disperse throughout the skin and populate hair follicles through long-range cell migration. During migration, cells undergo cycles of coordinated attachment and detachment from the Extra-Cellular Matrix (ECM). Embryonic migration processes that require cell-ECM attachment are dependent on the integrin family of adhesion receptors. Precise regulation of integrin-mediated adhesion is important for many developmental migration events. However, the mechanisms that regulate integrin-mediated adhesion in vivo in melanoblasts are not well understood. Here, we show that autoinhibitory regulation of the integrin-associated adapter protein talin coordinates cell-ECM adhesion during melanoblast migration in vivo. Specifically, an autoinhibition-defective talin mutant strengthens and stabilizes integrin-based adhesions in melanocytes, which impinges on their ability to migrate. Mice with defective talin autoinhibition exhibit delays in melanoblast migration and pigmentation defects. Our results show that coordinated integrin-mediated cell-ECM attachment is essential for melanoblast migration and that talin autoinhibition is an important mechanism for fine-tuning cell-ECM adhesion during cell migration in development.