Identification of a fibroblast growth factor-binding protein in Drosophila melanogaster

Characterization of an IL-1 receptor from Asterias forbesi coelomocytes

The tremendous importance of cytokines to immune defensive systems suggests that they have been conserved through evolution. The existence of interleukin (IL)-1-like molecules in several invertebrate groups substantiates this hypothesis. To characterize further the relationship of invertebrate IL-1-like molecules, we have used competitive binding assays to show that invertebrate coelomocytes of the starfish Asterias forbesi possess an IL-1-specific binding protein. Competitive binding experiments used radiolabeled human IL-1alpha. IL-1 bound specifically to the coelomocytes by a single high-affinity binding site (K(d) = 8.72 x 10(-10)/M). There are approximately 6000 binding sites per cell. The specificity of the receptor was confirmed by demonstrating that, among a group of cytokines and lymphokines tested, only vertebrate IL-1- or echinoderm IL-1-like molecules and the vertebrate IL-1 receptor antagonist inhibit IL-1 binding. Treatment of coelomocytes (labeled with IL-1alpha) with bivalent water-soluble crosslinkers identified a membrane protein of approximately 70 kDa to which IL-1 is specifically crosslinked.

The in vivo regulation of pioneer axon growth by FGF-2 and heparan sulfate proteoglycans in cultured embryos of the cockroach

Antibody perturbation experiments on cultured cockroach embryos demonstrated that a localized source of an FGF-2-like immunoreactive molecule in the head is required for the proper growth of pioneer axons in the leg. The study of axon growth in various fragments of cultured embryos and in the presence of various conditioned media showed that FGF-2 is needed to counteract the effects of an inhibitor of axon growth produced in the body trunk of the embryo. Endogenous heparan sulfate proteoglycans mediate these effects of FGF-2 on axon growth. The results of experiments with FGF-2 and/or body trunk axon growth inhibitor added to the culture medium indicate that more globally and uniformly distributed molecules may play as important a role in axon guidance as the more spatially restricted guidance cues. The results are interpreted in terms of a model that is consistent with a role for the FGF-2 receptor in axon growth.