Members of the ADAMTS family of secreted metalloproteases play crucial roles in modulating the extracellular matrix (ECM) in development and disease. Here, we show that ADAMTS-A, the Drosophila ortholog of human ADAMTS 9 and ADAMTS 20, and of C. elegans GON-1, is required for cell migration during embryogenesis. AdamTS-A is expressed in multiple migratory cell types, including hemocytes, caudal visceral mesoderm (CVM), the visceral branch of the trachea (VBs) and the secretory portion of the salivary gland (SG). Loss of AdamTS-A causes defects in germ cell, CVM and VB migration and, depending on the tissue, AdamTS-A functions both autonomously and non-autonomously. In the highly polarized collective of the SG epithelium, loss of AdamTS-A causes apical surface irregularities and cell elongation defects. We provide evidence that ADAMTS-A is secreted into the SG lumen where it functions to release cells from the apical ECM, consistent with the defects observed in AdamTS-A mutant SGs. We show that loss of the apically localized protocadherin Cad99C rescues the SG defects, suggesting that Cad99C serves as a link between the SG apical membrane and the secreted apical ECM component(s) cleaved by ADAMTS-A. Our analysis of AdamTS-A function in the SG suggests a novel role for ADAMTS proteins in detaching cells from the apical ECM, facilitating tube elongation during collective cell migration.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 03 June 2013.
All research outputs
#22,740,792
of 34,400,738 outputs
Outputs from Development (09501991)
#9,224
of 11,545 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#163,931
of 245,501 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Development (09501991)
#71
of 104 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 34,400,738 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 33rd percentile – i.e., 33% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 11,545 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 8.7. This one is in the 19th percentile – i.e., 19% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 245,501 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 32nd percentile – i.e., 32% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 104 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 31st percentile – i.e., 31% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
