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A family of laminin‐related proteins controlling ectodermal differentiation in Drosophila
Author(s) -
Patthy László
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/0014-5793(92)80051-h
Subject(s) - laminin , morphogenesis , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , gene family , cellular differentiation , genetics , extracellular matrix , gene expression
It is shown that the proteins encoded by the tumor suppressor fat gene, the neurogenic slit gene and crumbs gene of Drosophila contain domains homologous with modules identified previously in laminin A. These proteins of Drosophila have a number of features in common; they have large extracellular regions containing laminin A modules linked to epidermal growth factor‐like domains, and they are all involved in cell—cell interactions that are crucial for correct morphogenesis or ectodermal tissues (development of midline neuroepithelia, organization of epihelial tissues etc.) It is suggested that the laminin A‐type modules of these proteins play important roles in the interactions that control ectodermal differentiation.