Wnt signalling is indispensible for proper development of organisms and maintaining of adult tissue homeostasis. Its disruption often leads to disease. In nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, Wnt signalling governs vast array of developmental processes, among others also migration of the Q neuroblasts and their descendants. The sole Wnt acting in this process, EGL-20, triggers the canonical β-catenin Wnt signal transduction pathway in QL but not in QR which leads to QL remaining in the posterior while the QR migrates anteriorly. This represents a useful tool for studying Wnt signalling. Recently, mutation of gene cup-4 was found to disrupt migration of the QL neuroblast in a small proportion of the mutant population. cup-4 encodes a ligand-gated ion channel family homologue and it was shown to participate in endocytosis by coelomocytes, specialized phagocytic cells in the C. elegans body cavity. Here, I present the results of my effort to determine the place of CUP-4 action in Wnt signalling and to elucidate the mechanism of its function. I found that CUP-4 acts upstream of PRY- 1/Axin, which is involved in signal transduction in signal receiving cells, and most probably downstream of adaptin AP2, which is important for recycling of Wnt cargo receptor Wntless (Wls) in Wnt producing cell. cup-4 also...

Signaling lipids such as diacylglycerol (DAG) and the phosphatidylinositol polyphosphates (PIPns) play crucial roles in numerous cellular pathways. However, characterization of their activities is hindered by the complexity of associated signaling pathways and of the membrane environment. To address this issue, we have developed lipid probes that are effective for characterizing biological events using different applications, including activity-based probing (PIPns and DAG) and microarray analysis (PIPns). The activity-based probes have been applied to label receptor targets in multiple cancer cell proteomes through photocrosslinking followed by click reactions. The probes were found to label several proteins, as judged by on-gel fluorescence, and labeling was abrogated through various controls, such as heat denaturation and competition. Proteomic studies have been successfully performed to identify protein targets through biotin enrichment followed by mass spectrometric analysis. For microarray analysis, functionalized PIPn probes were synthesized and applied to develop a high throughput microarray analysis to measure protein-lipid binding affinity. These approaches will be invaluable for characterizing PIPn/DAG-regulated events and their involvement in disease. The design, synthesis and application of these lipid probes are included in this dissertation. In addition, the design and synthesis of other lipid probes are discussed, such as bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate (BMP), and lysophophatidylcholine (LPC) analogs.

Development requires the acquisition of different cell fates. A major conserved pathway required for cell fate determination is the Notch signalling pathway. Neuralized is a key regulator of the Notch pathway and is essential for embryonic development in Drosophila melanogaster. I have been studying the role of Neuralized during Drosophila development, focusing on the regulation of this protein. Neuralized is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that targets Notch ligands for ubiquitination and endocytosis in the signal sending cell. This endocytic event is required for signal transduction, and cells lacking Neuralized fail to signal through Notch. I have identified a conserved interaction between Neuralized and phosphoinositides that is essential for the ability of Neuralized to promote ligand endocytosis and Notch signalling. Interactions between Neuralized and phosphoinositides are not required for ligand ubiquitination, identifying a role for Neuralized in downstream aspects of ligand trafficking. I have also determined that Neuralized is dynamically regulated through a combination of tissue specific expression, subcellular trafficking, protein interactions and posttranslational modification. Neuralized contains two related protein domains of unknown function called Neuralized homology repeats (NHR). To gain insight into the function of the NHR domain, I characterized another NHR containing protein, CG3894. CG3894 is required for development and preliminary data indicate that NHR domains dimerize, suggesting a possible interaction between Neuralized and CG3894. The study of Neuralized in Drosophila has contributed to our understanding of this essential protein both at a developmental and cellular level, and has provided a means through which to ask questions about regulation of Notch signalling in a relatively simple context. Given the importance of Notch signalling to development, and contributions that aberrations in signalling make to cancer and diseases of the nervous system, expanding our understanding of the regulation of Notch signalling is essential to understanding how this important pathway functions.

Development requires the acquisition of different cell fates. A major conserved pathway required for cell fate determination is the Notch signalling pathway. Neuralized is a key regulator of the Notch pathway and is essential for embryonic development in Drosophila melanogaster. I have been studying the role of Neuralized during Drosophila development, focusing on the regulation of this protein. Neuralized is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that targets Notch ligands for ubiquitination and endocytosis in the signal sending cell. This endocytic event is required for signal transduction, and cells lacking Neuralized fail to signal through Notch. I have identified a conserved interaction between Neuralized and phosphoinositides that is essential for the ability of Neuralized to promote ligand endocytosis and Notch signalling. Interactions between Neuralized and phosphoinositides are not required for ligand ubiquitination, identifying a role for Neuralized in downstream aspects of ligand trafficking. I have also determined that Neuralized is dynamically regulated through a combination of tissue specific expression, subcellular trafficking, protein interactions and posttranslational modification. Neuralized contains two related protein domains of unknown function called Neuralized homology repeats (NHR). To gain insight into the function of the NHR domain, I characterized another NHR containing protein, CG3894. CG3894 is required for development and preliminary data indicate that NHR domains dimerize, suggesting a possible interaction between Neuralized and CG3894. The study of Neuralized in Drosophila has contributed to our understanding of this essential protein both at a developmental and cellular level, and has provided a means through which to ask questions about regulation of Notch signalling in a relatively simple context. Given the importance of Notch signalling to development, and contributions that aberrations in signalling make to cancer and diseases of the nervous system, expanding our understanding of the regulation of Notch signalling is essential to understanding how this important pathway functions.

Auxin ist eines der wichtigsten Phytohormone für das pflanzliche Wachstum und die Entwicklung und ein entscheidender Regulator des Gravitropismus. Für alle auxinvermittelten Prozesse ist die spezifische Verteilung des Hormons innerhalb der Gewebe relevant. Diese wird durch spezialisierte Auxintransporter umgesetzt, von denen besonders die PIN-Auxinexporter entscheidend sind. PINs lokalisieren in einer Zelle in den meisten Fällen polar an einer Seite der Plasmamembran um einen strikten Auxinfluss in das Zielgewebe zu erzeugen. Diese PIN-Verteilung muss dynamisch sein, damit der Auxinfluss zum Beispiel im Falle gravitroper Stimulation zügig in ein anderes Gewebe umgeleitet werden kann. Die schnelle Umverteilung der PINs hängt unter anderem von der Zusammensetzung und Funktionalität der Plasmamembran ab. In früheren Arbeiten konnte gezeigt werden, dass PIs eine wichtige Funktion bei der Vesikelbildung und der Rekrutierung der dafür nötigen Proteinmaschinerie einnehmen. In dieser Arbeit wurde getestet, ob PIs eine Rolle bei der PIN-Verteilung spielen. Pflanzen mit Störungen im PI-Syntheseweg wurden auf ihre gravitropen Krümmungseigenschaften und ihre PIN- und Auxinverteilung untersucht. Eine pip5k1 pip5k2-Doppelmutante zeigte neben verminderter gravitroper Krümmung auch eine gestörte PIN-Lokalisation als Defekt bei der Auxinverteilung, da sich Auxin mittels eines DR5::GUS-Reporters in der Wurzelspitze der Mutanten nicht nachweisen ließ. Diese Experimente lieferten daher wichtige Hinweise darauf, dass PtdIns(4,5)P2 eine Rolle bei der Lokalisierung und Umverteilung und damit der Regulierung des Auxinflusses spielen. PtdIns(4,5)P2 ist nicht nur als intaktes Lipid für viele Signalwege in der Pflanze relevant. Auch die abgeleiteten IPPs spielen eine wichtige Rolle. In der Kristallstruktur des Auxinrezeptors TIR1 wurde ein InsP6-Kofaktor beschrieben, dessen Funktion aber bisher unklar blieb. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurden ipk1-1-Mutanten und InsP 5-Ptase-Pflanzen mit verminderten Gehalten an InsP6 auf Auxin-vermittelte Prozesse wie gravitrope Krümmung und die Verteilung von Auxin und dessen Transporter untersucht. Weiterhin wurde die Transkription auxinabhängiger Gene getestet. Dazu wurden diese Pflanzenlinien gravitrop stimuliert und die Transkriptgehalte in der Wurzelspitze nach dieser Stimulation mittels einer Transkript-Arrayanalyse mit Pflanzen des Wildtyps verglichen. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass die gravitrope Stimulation in Wildtyppflanzen eine deutliche Veränderung der Genexpression hervorruft, die sich in ipk1-1-Mutanten und die InsP 5-Ptase-Pflanzen nicht beobachten ließ. Verifizierungen ausgewählter Gene mittels qPCR bestätigten die Befunde. Zusammenfassend zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass sowohl PIs, als auch abgeleitete IPPs, im besonderen InsP6, eine Rolle bei auxinvermittelten Prozessen spielen.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duke University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brock University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-165). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--Brock University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-165).