Abstract
p120ctn is a ubiquitously expressed core component of cadherin junctions and essential for vertebrate development. Surprisingly, Drosophila p120ctn (dp120ctn) is dispensable for adherens junctions and development, which has discouraged Drosophila researchers from further pursuing the biological role of dp120ctn. Here we demonstrate that dp120ctn loss results in increased heat shock sensitivity and reduced animal lifespan, which are completely rescued by ectopic expression of a dp120ctn-GFP transgene. Transcriptomic analysis revealed multiple relish/NF-κB target genes differentially expressed upon loss of dp120ctn. Importantly, this aberrant gene expression was rescued by overexpression of dp120ctn-GFP or heterozygosity for relish. Our results uncover a novel role for dp120ctn in the regulation of animal stress response and immune signalling. This may represent an ancient role of p120ctn and can influence further studies in Drosophila and mammals.
Highlights
P120ctn is a ubiquitously expressed core component of cadherin junctions and essential for vertebrate development
Introduction p120 catenin (p120ctn) is the prototypic member of the p120ctn family in mammals and, together with Armadillo Repeat gene deleted in Velco-Cardio-Facial syndrome (ARCVF), p0071 and delta-catenin, it binds the highly conserved juxta-membrane domain (JMD) of classic cadherins to promote adherens junction stability [1,2,3]
Drosophila p120ctn is the only member of the p120ctn family in flies and it localizes to the cytoplasm and adherens junctions [28,29]
Summary
P120 catenin (p120ctn) is the prototypic member of the p120ctn family in mammals and, together with Armadillo Repeat gene deleted in Velco-Cardio-Facial syndrome (ARCVF), p0071 and delta-catenin, it binds the highly conserved juxta-membrane domain (JMD) of classic cadherins to promote adherens junction stability [1,2,3]. Drosophila p120ctn (dp120ctn) is the only member of the p120ctn family in flies and it localizes to the cytoplasm and adherens junctions [28,29]. Despite its dispensability for adhesion and development dp120ctn has been retained in the Drosophila genome and can be found in all invertebrates and vertebrates as a single or multi-gene. This suggests that dp120ctn may have an important, yet unidentified, ancestral role [31,32]. Our results uncover a novel role for p120ctn, which may provide insights for future Drosophila and mammalian studies
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