Cadherin-6B is proteolytically processed during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions of the cranial neural crest

The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a highly coordinated process underlying both development and disease. Premigratory neural crest cells undergo EMT, migrate away from the neural tube, and differentiate into diverse cell types during vertebrate embryogenesis. Adherens junction disassembly within premigratory neural crest cells is one component of EMT and, in chick cranial neural crest cells, involves Cadherin-6B (Cad6B) down-regulation. While Cad6B transcription is repressed by Snail2, the rapid loss of Cad6B protein during EMT is suggestive of posttranslational mechanisms that promote Cad6B turnover. For the first time in vivo, we demonstrate Cad6B proteolysis during neural crest cell EMT, which generates a Cad6B N-terminal fragment (NTF) and two C-terminal fragments (CTF1/2). Co-expression of relevant proteases with Cad6B in vitro shows that A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinases (ADAMs) ADAM10 and ADAM19, together with γ-secretase, cleave Cad6B to produce the NTF and CTFs previously observed in vivo. Importantly, both ADAMs and γ-secretase are expressed in the appropriate spatio-temporal pattern in vivo to proteolytically process Cad6B. Overexpression or depletion of either ADAM within premigratory neural crest cells prematurely reduces or maintains Cad6B, respectively. Collectively, these results suggest a dual mechanism for Cad6B proteolysis involving two ADAMs, along with γ-secretase, during cranial neural crest cell EMT.