Combinatorial roles of heparan sulfate proteoglycans and heparan sulfates in Caenorhabditis elegans neural development.

ABSTRACT: Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) play critical roles in the development and adult physiology of all metazoan organisms. Most of the known molecular interactions of HSPGs are attributed to the structurally highly complex heparan sulfate (HS) glycans. However, whether a specific HSPG (such as syndecan) contains HS modifications that differ from another HSPG (such as glypican) has remained largely unresolved. Here, a neural model in C. elegans is used to demonstrate for the first time the relationship between specific HSPGs and HS modifications in a defined biological process in vivo. HSPGs are critical for the migration of hermaphrodite specific neurons (HSNs) as genetic elimination of multiple HSPGs leads to 80% defect of HSN migration. The effects of genetic elimination of HSPGs are a

SUBMITTER: Kinnunen TK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4108370 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature