Cell adhesion in zebrafish embryos is modulated by March 8.

March 8 is a member of a family of transmembrane E3 ubiquitin ligases that have been studied mostly for their role in the immune system. We find that March 8 is expressed in the zebrafish egg and early embryo, suggesting a role in development. Both knock-down and overexpression of March 8 leads to abnormal development. The phenotype of zebrafish embryos and Xenopus animal explants overexpressing March 8 implicates impairment of cell adhesion as a cause of the effect. In zebrafish embryos and in cultured cells, overexpression of March 8 leads to a reduction in the surface levels of E-cadherin, a major cell-cell adhesion molecule. Experiments in cell culture further show that E-cadherin can be ubiquitinated by March 8. On the basis of these observations we suggest that March 8 functions in the embryo to modulate the strength of cell adhesion by regulating the localization of E-cadherin.