Meeting Abstract
P1.42 Sunday, Jan. 4 Investigation of integrins during pedal lacerate development in Aiptasia pallida SAWYER, S. J; AVERY, T.*; Glenville State College; Southern Illinois University Edwardsville sara.sawyer@glenville.edu
Integrins are cell surface receptors that play a vital role in cell attachment and are important signaling molecules in cell growth and tissue formation. These proteins have been identified in Cnidarians but their distribution and regulatory properties are not well understood. In this study we investigate the functional role of integrins during pedal laceration in the Cnidarian, Aiptasia pallida. During pedal laceration, small portions of the pedal disc are shed and reorganize to form a complete sea anemone in 48-72 hours after initial lacerate formation. This process must involve cell detachment and rearrangement and so makes it an optimal model for studying integrin signaling pathways. Through methods in immunocytochemistry and use of pharmacological agents which disrupt functional integrin-signaling pathways, we are studying the function of integrins during pedal laceration. Staining untreated pedal lacerates with an anti-integrin antibody has shown distribution of integrins centralized between the two primary epithelial layers, throughout the outer tissue layers and within the striated cortex of the mesoglea. Treating pedal lacerates with pharmacological agents suggests that integrin signaling pathways are involved in the development of the pedal lacerate. Treating lacerates with the PI3K pathway inhibitor LY 294002 (12M) and MAP kinase inhibitor PD98059 (20M) cell maturation inhibited development in 60% of the lacerates. When treated with the PI3K pathway activator SC3036 (24M) pedal lacerates showed accelerated development rate with treated animals maturing 50% faster than untreated controls. We are now looking at how disrupting integrin signaling pathways affects the integrin staining of treated pedal lacerates and adult animals to gain a more complete understanding of how pedal lacerate development is modified.
