Flightless-I Antibody #14189

The flightless-I (fliI) gene was first identified in Drosophila mutant screens for genes involved in flight behavior. Homozygous mutant alleles at the fliI locus are embryonic lethal, whereas heterozygous mutations yield a "flightless" phenotype resulting from defects in flight muscle fiber development (1). The encoded protein (flightless-I, FLII) is a highly conserved member of the gelsolin superfamily, defined by the presence of C-terminal gelsolin motifs that function as actin-binding domains (2). Genetic knock-out studies in mice and worms confirmed that Flightless-I plays a critical and highly conserved role in embryonic development, likely through its effects on actin remodeling of the cytoskeleton (3,4). Postnatally, Flightless-I is recognized to play an important role in wound repair (5). Flightless-I protein levels are increased in many wound types, and depletion of Flightless-I protein levels has been shown to accelerate wound repair by promoting fibroblast proliferation and epithelial migration (6-8). Studies in animal models suggest that Flightless-I may inhibit the wound repair process by modulating TGF-β signaling dynamics in the wound environment (9).