Skeletogenic Expression of Integrin Alpha, Talin and Npnt Genes and Npnt Role in Sea Urchin Skeletogenesis.

ABSTRACT: Biomineralization, the formation of mineralized tissues like skeletons and shells, is an essential developmental process in diverged phyla. Vertebrates' biomineralization involves the secretion of specialized extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and the formation of Integrin-based focal adhesions, yet less is known about the role of such factors in invertebrates. A recent study has shown that focal adhesions form around the calcite spicule of the sea urchin larva, however, the skeletogenic expression and role of adhesion related proteins in this system are understudied. Here, we identified a set of ECM and adhesion genes that show enriched expression in the sea urchin skeletogenic cells and studied the role of the ECM protein, Npnt, in Paracentrotus lividus. The integrin alpha proteins, Pl-

SUBMITTER: Chen S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12705340 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature