Lejeune. J.-P.B. and L.V. were supported by a thesis fellowship from Ministère de la Recherche Selleckchem GDC-0199 et Technologie and received fellowships from Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer (J.-P.B.) and from Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (L.V.). P.-S.L. was supported by ANR (grant MRGENES) and C.L. by a postdoctoral fellowship from Neuropole de Recherche Francilien. L.S. Goldstein is acknowledged
for the Kif3alox mice and B.K. Yoder for the IFT88lox mice. M. Bornens is acknowledged for the generous gift of antibodies and J.L. Duband for the generous gift of recombinant Shh. Professor F. Murakami and Dr. F. Matsuzaki are acknowledged for the gift of expression vectors. We are grateful to M. Bornens for his support at the VE-822 cost start of the study, to A. Louvi for providing antibodies, to R.M. Mège for the critical reading of early versions of the manuscript, and to A. Lupini for English revision. Electron microscopy was performed at the Service de Microscopie electronique de l’Institut de Biologie Intégrative IFR 83 (University Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris) and live cell imaging at the plateforme d’Imagerie de
l’Institut du Fer à Moulin (University Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris). “
“Genetic studies have demonstrated that the three TAM receptor tyrosine kinases Montelukast Sodium (RTKs)—Tyro3, Axl, and Mer (Lai and Lemke, 1991)—play essential regulatory roles in the mature immune, nervous, vascular, and reproductive systems (Burstyn-Cohen et al., 2009; Lemke and Rothlin, 2008; Lu et al., 1999; Scott et al., 2001). In general, these receptors are specialized to control homeostatic responses in cells and tissues that are subject to constant challenge
and renewal throughout adult life. In the immune system, for example, Axl functions as a pleiotropic inhibitor of the inflammatory response of dendritic cells and macrophages subsequent to their encounter with bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens (Lemke and Rothlin, 2008; Rothlin et al., 2007). And in these same cells, Mer (protein designation Mer, c-Mer, or Mertk; gene name Mertk) is required for the efficient phagocytosis of apoptotic cells that accumulate following infection ( Lemke and Burstyn-Cohen, 2010; Scott et al., 2001). In endothelial cells of the vasculature, Axl is engaged subsequent to both acute and chronic vessel injury and remodeling ( Korshunov et al., 2006); and in the testis, all three receptors are required in Sertoli cells for the phagocytosis of the tens of millions of apoptotic germ cells that are generated during every cycle of spermatogenesis ( Lemke and Burstyn-Cohen, 2010; Lu et al., 1999).