ArticleCurrent biology : CB2023
A sex-specific switch in a single glial cell patterns the apical extracellular matrix.
Article in Current biology : CB, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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22 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Lipocalin and a Hedgehog-related protein are partners in thebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Pre-cuticle DPY-6 acts as a blueprint for aECM periodic organization inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Pre-cuticle DPY-6 acts as a blueprint for aECM periodic organization in C. elegans.PLoS genetics · 2026Article
- A panoramic view of the expression and function of the Doublesex/DMRT gene family inScience advances · 2026Article
- Sexual dimorphism in the nervous system: Three principles from the nematode C.elegans.Current opinion in neurobiology · 2026Review
- The extracellular matrix genebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Mechanical control of the insect extracellular matrix nanostructure.Science advances · 2026Article
- Molecular profiling of adult C. elegans glia across sexes by single-nuclear RNA-seq.Developmental cell · 2025Article
- Systematic identification of oscillatory gene expression in single cell types.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Multiscale patterning of a model apical extracellular matrix revealed by systematic endogenous protein tagging.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- The PVD neuron has male-specific structure and mating function inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- The role(s) of NF-Y in development and differentiation.Cell death and differentiation · 2025Review
- Glia Development and Function in the NematodeCold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology · 2024Review
- C. elegans epicuticlins define specific compartments in the apical extracellular matrix and function in wound repair.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2024Article
- Neurogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans.Genetics · 2024Review
- Specialized structure and function of the apical extracellular matrix at sense organs.Cells & development · 2024Review
- Apical cell expansion maintained by Dusky-like establishes a scaffold for corneal lens morphogenesis.Science advances · 2024Article
- Caenorhabditis elegans Hedgehog-related proteins are tissue- and substructure-specific components of the cuticle and precuticle.Genetics · 2024Article
- The Caenorhabditis elegans cuticle and precuticle: a model for studying dynamic apical extracellular matrices in vivo.Genetics · 2024Review
- ThemicroPublication biology · 2024Article
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4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
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Abstract
Apical extracellular matrix (aECM) constitutes the interface between every tissue and the outside world. It is patterned into diverse tissue-specific structures through unknown mechanisms. Here, we show that a male-specific genetic switch in a single C. elegans glial cell patterns the overlying aECM from a solid sheet to an ∼200 nm pore, thus allowing a male sensory neuron to access the environment. Using cell-specific genetic sex reversal, we find that this switch reflects an inherent sex difference in the glial cell that is independent of the sex identity of the surrounding neurons. Through candidate and unbiased genetic screens, we find that this glial sex difference is controlled by factors shared with neurons (mab-3, lep-2, and lep-5) as well as previously unidentified regulators whose effects may be glia specific (nfya-1, bed-3, and jmjd-3.1). The switch results in male-specific glial expression of a secreted Hedgehog-related protein, GRL-18, that we discover localizes to transient nanoscale rings at sites where aECM pores will form. Using electron microscopy, we find that blocking male-specific gene expression in glia prevents pore formation, whereas forcing male-specific glial gene expression induces an ectopic pore. Thus, a switch in gene expression in a single cell is necessary and sufficient to pattern aECM into a specific structure. Our results highlight that aECM is not a simple homogeneous meshwork, but instead is composed of discrete local features that reflect the identity of the underlying cells.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.