Proteins constituting insect epidermis.

Fibrous proteins of epidermis.

Cell polarity during wound healing in an insect epidermis.

The insect integument displays uniform posterior orientation of cuticular denticles or bristles formed by the epidermal cells. We want to understand how cell polarities become uniformly oriented in the plane of the epidermal sheet. Here we test whether directed cell migration disturbs the orientation of denticles. Burning a circular area of epidermal cells beneath the cuticle causes cells to mi...

Localization and interaction of the proteins constituting the GAL genetic switch in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the GAL genes encode the enzymes required for galactose metabolism. Regulation of these genes has served as the paradigm for eukaryotic transcriptional control over the last 50 years. The switch between inert and active gene expression is dependent upon three proteins--the transcriptional activator Gal4p, the inhibitor Gal80p, and the ligand sensor Gal3p. Here, we p...

Dissecting the role of cadherin-catenin proteins in mammalian epidermis.

I ntercellular adhesion plays a central role in normal metazoan development and homeostasis (1, 2). Cadherin– catenin-mediated adhesion structures are composed of multiple core proteins that may have not only common but also distinct functions. In this issue of PNAS, two studies from the Fuchs laboratory (3, 4) provide interesting novel insights into differential roles of cadherin–catenin prote...

Mini-Review Insect Storage Proteins: Receptors

The accumulation and utilization of storage proteins are prominent events linked to the metamorphosis of holometabolous insects. Storage proteins are synthesized in fat body, secreted into the larval hemolymph and taken up by fat body shortly before pupation. Within the pupal fat body, these proteins are initially stored in protein granules, and later proteolytically broken down to supply amino...