A pathway for unicellular tube extension depending on the lymphatic vessel determinant Prox1 and on osmoregulation

Labouesse and colleagues examine the steps of excretory canal growth in nematodes. They delineate the importance of osmoregulated vesicle fusion with the lumen, and of a subapical cytoskeletal web to ensure straight lumen growth. They identify PROS-1 as a transcription factor essential for lumen growth through modulation of the osmosensitive kinase GCK-3 and intermediate filament protein IFB-1.