# Mechanosensitive remodeling of adherens junctions during snail-driven EMT

> **NIH NIH R00** · UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA LAS VEGAS · 2020 · $244,560

## Abstract

Abstract/Project Summary
Active remodeling of adherens junctions is crucial not only for keeping tissue integrity but also for driving
the progression of many developmental events such as epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT).
Recent development in the research at the interface between cell biology and mechanical force has
revealed that, in addition to the well studied biochemical signals, the mechanical tension plays an critical
yet unappreciated role in the regulation of adherens junctions. The candidate's postdoc study has
demonstrated that during Drosophila gastrulation adherens junctions in mesodermal primordium are
repositioned and strengthened in response to apically localized myosin contraction. Such tension-
dependent remodeling of adherens junctions protects junctions from Snail-driven junction disassembly
and appear to developmentally time the EMT to occur only after the completion of the morphogenetic
event. This establishes a model to study the mechanosensitive regulation of adherens junctions in an
intact developmental system. The goal of the project is to elucidate the mechanism of tension-dependent
adherens junction remodeling in the context of EMT. In the first aim, the dynamics of junctional
components within individual junction clusters during the remodeling will be examined using
photoconvertible fluorescent probes and in vivo junctional tension will be measured in live embryos using
a FLIM (Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy)-based FRET tension sensor that have been
recently made and tested. In the second aim, a small yet comprehensive pool of direct Snail target
genes identified from a recent genome-wide study will be tested for their roles in Snail-dependent
junction disassembly. The identified genes will be further characterized in the independent phase. The
last aim is to test the principle of tension-dependent junction remodeling and its impact on EMT in
vertebrate cell lines in collaboration with McClatchey's lab. The cell lines with stably expressed live
imaging markers will be made during the mentored phase. Junction dynamics and the role of
mechanosensitive junction remodeling during EMT will be examined in the independent phase. Result
from this project will advance our understanding on regulation of adherens junctions in response to
myosin-generated tension and shed light on the novel function of Snail on disassembling junctions at
post-transcriptional level during EMT.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10015324
- **Project number:** 5R00HD088764-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA LAS VEGAS
- **Principal Investigator:** Mo Weng
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $244,560
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-10 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10015324

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10015324, Mechanosensitive remodeling of adherens junctions during snail-driven EMT (5R00HD088764-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10015324. Licensed CC0.

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