ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Morphogenesis and Patterning
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcell.2025.1522710
This article is part of the Research TopicEditors’ Showcase 2024: Insights in Morphogenesis and PatterningView all 8 articles
CD44 facilitates adhesive interactions in airineme-mediated intercellular signaling
Provisionally accepted
- University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States
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Specialized cellular protrusions facilitate local intercellular communication in various species, including mammals. Among these, airinemes play a crucial role in pigment pattern formation in zebrafish by mediating long-distance Notch signaling between pigment cells. Remarkably, airinemes exhibit large vesicle-like structures at their tips, which are pulled by macrophages and delivered to target cells. The interaction between macrophages and Delta-ligand-carrying airineme vesicles is essential for initiating airineme-mediated signaling, yet the molecular details of this interaction remain elusive. Through high-resolution live imaging, genetic in vivo manipulations, and in vitro adhesion assays, we found that adhesive interactions via the extracellular domain of CD44, a class I transmembrane glycoprotein, between macrophages and airineme vesicles are critical for airineme signaling. Mutants lacking the extracellular domain of CD44 lose their adhesiveness, resulting in a significant reduction in airineme extension and pigment pattern defects. Our findings provide valuable insights into the role of adhesive interactions between signal-sending cells and macrophages in long-range intercellular signaling.
Keywords: CD44, airinemes, Zebrafish, Cell Adhesion, Macrophage - cell
Received: 04 Nov 2024; Accepted: 01 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Bowman, Kim and Eom. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Dae Seok Eom, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States
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