GPN-1/glypican and UNC-52/perlecan do not appear to function in BMP signaling to pattern the C. elegans postembryonic mesoderm

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Published in microPublication Biology, 2021

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We tested if GPN-1 and UNC-52, two heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs), are involved in regulation of the BMP pathway. Together, a visiting high school teacher (Robert Greer) and I observed that mutations in these two factors do not have a Susm phenotype, suggesting that neither are playing a major role in the BMP pathway. Our lab had the chance to host Rob for a summer through the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET-STEM) program. 

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Recommended citation: M. S. DeGroot, R. Greer, J. Liu, GPN-1/glypican and UNC-52/perlecan do not appear to function in BMP signaling to pattern the C. elegans postembryonic mesoderm. microPublication Biology (2021): 10.17912/micropub.biology.000437.

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The Caenorhabditis elegans SMOC-1 protein acts cell non-autonomously to promote bone morphogenetic protein signaling

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Published in Genetics, 2019

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Here, we have discovered a novel gene in C. elegans which we have named smoc-1 (secreted modular calcium binding protein). We have found evidence that the SMOC-1 protein acts cell non-autonomously in a positive feedback loop with the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) pathway in C. elegans. Our findings highlight a conserved role of SMOC proteins in modulating BMP signaling in metazoans.

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Recommended citation: M. S. DeGroot, H. Shi, A. Eastman, A. N. McKillop, J. Liu, The Caenorhabditis elegans SMOC-1 protein acts cell non-autonomously to promote bone morphogenetic protein signaling. Genetics 211, 683–702 (2019).