by Keyword: Marine sponge
Ruperti, Fabian, Dzieciatkowska, Monika, Pankey, M Sabrina, Asensio, Cedric S, Anselmetti, Dario, Fernandez-Busquets, Xavier, Nichols, Scott A, (2024). Proteomic analysis of the sponge Aggregation Factor implicates an ancient toolkit for allorecognition and adhesion in animals Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 121, e2409125121
The discovery that sponges (Porifera) can fully regenerate from aggregates of dissociated cells launched them as one of the earliest experimental models to study the evolution of cell adhesion and allorecognition in animals. This process depends on an extracellular glycoprotein complex called the Aggregation Factor (AF), which is composed of proteins thought to be unique to sponges. We used quantitative proteomics to identify additional AF components and interacting proteins in the classical model, Clathria prolifera, and compared them to proteins involved in cell interactions in Bilateria. Our results confirm MAFp3/p4 proteins as the primary components of the AF but implicate related proteins with calx-beta and wreath domains as additional components. Using AlphaFold, we unveiled close structural similarities of AF components to protein domains in other animals, previously masked by the mutational decay of sequence similarity. The wreath domain, believed to be unique to the AF, was predicted to contain a central beta- sandwich of the same organization as the vWFD domain (also found in extracellular, gel- forming glycoproteins in other animals). Additionally, many copurified proteins share a conserved C- terminus, containing divergent immunoglobulin (Ig) and Fn3 domains predicted to serve as an AF-interaction interface. One of these proteins, MAF- associated protein 1, resembles Ig superfamily cell adhesion molecules and we hypothesize that it may function to link the AF to the surface of cells. Our results highlight the existence of an ancient toolkit of conserved protein domains regulating cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix protein interactions in all animals, and likely reflect a common origin of cell adhesion and allorecognition.
JTD Keywords: Adhesion, Allorecognitio, Binding, Calcium, Carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions, Cell-cell adhesion, Evolution, Marine sponge, Microciona-prolifera, Molecule, Porifera, Protein, Proteomics, Recepto, Recognition
Rodriguez, Segui, Bucior, I., Burger, M. M., Samitier, J., Errachid, A., Fernàndez-Busquets, X., (2007). Application of a bio-QCM to study carbohydrates self-interaction in presence of calcium Transducers '07 & Eurosensors Xxi, Digest of Technical Papers 
14th International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems , IEEE (Lyon, France) 1-2, 1995-1998
In the past years, the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) has been successfully applied to follow interfacial physical chemistry phenomena in a label free and real time manner. However, carbohydrate self adhesion has only been addressed partially using this technique. Carbohydrates play an important role in cell adhesion, providing a highly versatile form of attachment, suitable for biologically relevant recognition events in the initial steps of adhesion. Here, we provide a QCM study of carbohydrates' self-recognition in the presence of calcium, based on a species-specific cell recognition model provided by marine sponges. Our results show a difference in adhesion kinetics when varying either the calcium concentration (with a constant carbohydrate concentration) or the carbohydrate concentration (with constant calcium concentration).
JTD Keywords: Biomedical materials, Calcium, Cellular biophysics, Microbalances, Porous materials, Quartz, Surface chemistry/ bio-QCM, Carbohydrates self-interaction, Quartz crystal microbalance, Interfacial physical chemistry phenomena, Carbohydrate self adhesion, Biologically relevant recognition events, Marine sponges, Adhesion kinetics, Calcium concentration, Carbohydrate concentration, Biosensors, Biomedical materials, Surface chemistry, Cellular biophysics
