PgmNr D1039: The extracellular protease AdamTS-B negatively regulates wing vein patterning through BMP signaling.

Authors:
Afshan Ismat 1 ; Minh Pham 2 ; Mark Schuweiler 1


Institutes
1) University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN; 2) Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA.


Keyword: TGFbeta

Abstract:

Vein patterning in the Drosophila wing provides a powerful tool to study regulation of BMP signaling.  Altering levels of BMP effectors can induce major defects in the cross veins and longitudinal veins of wings.  The extracellular protease AdamTS-B (CG4096) encodes an ADAMTS protease expressed in the embryonic trachea and wing imaginal disc precursor cells.  The absence of AdamTS-B displayed an extra PCV vein, and a branched or incomplete distal tip of the longitudinal L5 vein.  These defects were similar to over-expression of BMP agonist crossveinless (cv), and down-regulation of the BMP inhibitor short gastrulation (sog).  The defects observed in over-expression of AdamTS-B were also similar to those of sog up-regulation and cv knock-down mutations; PCV were not formed completely.  Furthermore, the downstream effector of BMP signaling, pMad, showed altered expression levels consistent with the PCV defects seen in the loss and over-expression of AdamTS-B.  These findings suggest that AdamTS-B might be a BMP antagonist, modifying BMP agonists or receptors to alter BMP signals.  Further study needs to be undertaken to fully unravel interactions between AdamTS-B and BMP signaling.