Mammalian WASP and N-WASP are involved in reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton through activation of the Arp2/3 complex and in regulation of cell motility or cell shape changes. In the present study, we identified WASP-interacting protein homologue (WIP)-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans. WIP-1 contains the domains and sequences conserved among mammalian WIP family proteins. Yeast two-hybrid analysis detected a physical interaction between WIP-1 and WSP-1, the sole homologue of WASP/N-WASP in C. elegans. Western analysis of embryo lysates showed that RNA interference (RNAi) treatment for
wip-1 decreased levels of WSP-1 protein, and
wsp-1(RNAi) treatment decreased levels of WIP-1 protein. However,
wsp-1 mRNA levels were not decreased in
wip-1(RNAi)-treated embryos, and
wip-1 mRNA levels were not decreased in
wsp-1(RNAi)-treated embryos. Furthermore, disruption of WIP-1 by RNAi resulted in embryonic lethality with morphologic defects in hypodermal cell migration, a process known as ventral enclosure. This phenotype was similar to that observed in RNAi experiments for
wsp-1. Immunostaining showed that WIP-1 was expressed by migrating hypodermal cells, as was WSP-1. This expression during ventral enclosure was reduced in
wip-1(RNAi)-treated embryos and
wsp-1(RNAi)-treated embryos. Our results suggest that C. elegans WIP-1 may function in hypodermal cell migration during ventral enclosure by maintaining levels of WSP-1.