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Originally published as MBC in Press, 10.1091/mbc.E08-02-0182 on July 30, 2008

Vol. 19, Issue 10, 4287-4297, October 2008

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Prominent Actin Fiber Arrays in Drosophila Tendon Cells Represent Architectural Elements Different from Stress Fibers

Juliana Alves-Silva*, Ines Hahn*,{dagger}, Olga Huber, Michael Mende{ddagger}, Andre Reissaus, and Andreas Prokop

Faculty of Life Sciences, Wellcome Trust Centre of Cell-Matrix Research, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom

Submitted February 20, 2008; Revised July 16, 2008; Accepted July 18, 2008
Monitoring Editor: Josephine C. Adams

Tendon cells are specialized cells of the insect epidermis that connect basally attached muscle tips to the cuticle on their apical surface via prominent arrays of microtubules. Tendon cells of Drosophila have become a useful genetic model system to address questions with relevance to cell and developmental biology. Here, we use light, confocal, and electron microscopy to present a refined model of the subcellular organization of tendon cells. We show that prominent arrays of F-actin exist in tendon cells that fully overlap with the microtubule arrays, and that type II myosin accumulates in the same area. The F-actin arrays in tendon cells seem to represent a new kind of actin structure, clearly distinct from stress fibers. They are highly resistant to F-actin–destabilizing drugs, to the application of myosin blockers, and to loss of integrin, Rho1, or mechanical force. They seem to represent an important architectural element of tendon cells, because they maintain a connection between apical and basal surfaces even when microtubule arrays of tendon cells are dysfunctional. Features reported here and elsewhere for tendon cells are reminiscent of the structural and molecular features of support cells in the inner ear of vertebrates, and they might have potential translational value.

This article was published online ahead of print in MBC in Press (http://www.molbiolcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1091/mbc.E08-02-0182) on July 30, 2008.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.

Present addresses: {dagger} Program Unit Development and Genetics, Laboratory for Molecular Developmental Biology, LIMES-Institute, University of Bonn, D-53115 Bonn, Germany;

{ddagger} Department of Craniofacial Development, King's College, Guy's Hospital, London SE1 9RT, United Kingdom.

Address correspondence to: Andreas Prokop (andreas.prokop{at}manchester.ac.uk).






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