Journal article
Evidence for a novel function of Awd in maintenance of genomic stability
Patrizia Romani, Serena Duchi, Giuseppe Gargiulo, Valeria Cavaliere
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS | NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP | Published : 2017
Abstract
The abnormal wing discs (awd) gene encodes the Drosophila homolog of NME1/NME2 metastasis suppressor genes. Awd acts in multiple tissues where its function is critical in establishing and maintaining epithelial integrity. Here, we analysed awd gene function in Drosophila epithelial cells using transgene-mediated RNA interference and genetic mosaic analysis. We show that awd knockdown in larval wing disc epithelium leads to chromosomal instability (CIN) and induces apoptosis mediated by activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Forced maintenance of Awd depleted cells, by expressing the cell death inhibitor p35, downregulates atypical protein kinase C and DE-Cadherin. Consistent with their loss ..
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Awarded by Association for International Cancer Research, AICR-WWCR
Awarded by University of Bologna
Awarded by Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro-AIRC
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank Roberta Randi for her help in performing SEM analyses and Catia Giovannini for technical assistance for FACS analysis. We thank Daniela Grifoni and Roberto Bernardoni and the Drosophila community for sharing reagents such as fly stocks and antibodies. We also thank Marilena Ignesti for critical reading of the manuscript and helpful suggestions. We thank Marco Privitera for his graphic work. The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the Association for International Cancer Research, AICR-WWCR grant ref. 11-0738, to V. Cavaliere and from the University of Bologna (RFO 2013/14) to G. Gargiulo and V. Cavaliere. This work was also supported by the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro-AIRC, grant "MFAG-16491", to S. Duchi. The AICRWWCR funds have been used to pay for a research grant awarded from the University of Bologna to P. Romani.