Abstract

Branching morphogenesis is a general mechanism that increases the surface area of an organ. In chicken feathers, the flat epithelial sheath at the base of the follicle is transformed into periodic branches. How exactly the keratinocytes are organized into this pattern remains unclear. Here we show that in the feather follicle, the pre-branch basal keratinocytes have extensive filopodia, which contract and smooth out after branching. Manipulating the filopodia via small GTPases RhoA/Cdc42 also regulates branch formation. These basal filopodia help interpret the proximal-distal FGF gradient in the follicle. Furthermore, the topological arrangement of cell adhesion via E-Cadherin re-distribution controls the branching process. Periodic activation of Notch signaling drives the differential cell adhesion and contraction of basal filopodia, which occurs only below an FGF signaling threshold. Our results suggest a coordinated adjustment of cell shape and adhesion orchestrates feather branching, which is regulated by Notch and FGF signaling.

Details

Title
Contraction of basal filopodia controls periodic feather branching via Notch and FGF signaling
Author
Cheng, Dongyang 1 ; Yan, Xiaoli 1 ; Qiu, Guofu 1 ; Zhang, Juan 1 ; Wang, Hanwei 1 ; Feng, Tingting 1 ; Tian, Yarong 1 ; Xu, Haiping 2 ; Wang, Meiqing 2 ; He, Wanzhong 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Wu, Ping 4 ; Widelitz, Randall B 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Cheng-Ming, Chuong 4 ; Zhicao Yue 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

1  Institute of Life Sciences, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China 
2  Department of Mathematics, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China 
3  National Institute of Biological Sciences (NIBS), Beijing, China 
4  Department of Pathology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA 
Pages
1-11
Publication year
2018
Publication date
Apr 2018
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20411723
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03801-z
ProQuest document ID
2023410820
Copyright
© 2018. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.