Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons^™

Examining Lateral Line Development Through Cxcl14 Modulation Of Cxcl12-Cxcr4 Mediated Gene Expression In Danio Rerio, Ariana Calderon-Zavala

Lawrence University Honors Projects

The lateral line is a mechanosensory system used by fish to sense the movement of water. It is evolutionarily related to the inner-ear in humans. For both organisms, the binding of the CXCL12 (SDF-1 ligand) to the CXCR4 receptor induces conformational changes needed to activate signal transduction. This signaling results in numerous cellular responses such as cell fate, chemotaxis, and gene transcription. Interestingly, researchers have found that another signaling molecule, CXCL14, can also bind to the CXCR4 receptor with high affinity (Tanegashima et al., 2013). As a result, we hypothesize that CXCL14 modulates CXCL12-mediated chemotaxis, presumably acting as an allosteric …