A Brief Overview on IRM Function Across Evolution

Abstract

The description of the Rst protein by Karl-Friedrich Fischbach and colleagues was a milestone in the discovery of the irre cell recognition module (IRM). IRM proteins represent a family of immunoglobulin superfamily cell adhesion proteins that orchestrate intercellular adhesion and signaling events necessary for the development of various tissues. This review briefly summarizes the fundamental role of IRM proteins for neuronal wiring and filtration in organisms spanning the evolutionary distance from Drosophila (nephrocyte diaphragm) to humans (slit diaphragm).

Keywords::

• IRM proteins
• nephrocytes
• nephrin
• Neph1
• podocytes

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This review was written in appreciation of the meeting “The Nervous System of Drosophila melanogaster – from Development to Function” co-organized by Karl-Friedrich Fischbach who was at this time point ending his official scientific career. We apologize to all researchers whose interesting work and ideas could not be described in more detail due to space limitations. The work has been generously supported by the German Research Foundation DFG (TBH), by the Excellence Initiative of the German Federal and State Governments (EXC 294 to TBH), by the Else Kröner Fresenius Stiftung (TBH), and by the BMBF Gerontosys II - NephAge (TBH).

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.