Fujii R
Department of Biomolecular Science, Faculty of Science, Toho University, Funabashi, Chiba, Japan.
Pigment Cell Res. 2000 Oct;13(5):300-19. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0749.2000.130502.x.
Chromatophores, including melanophores, xanthophores, erythrophores, leucophores and iridophores, are responsible for the revelation of integumentary coloration in fish. Recently, blue chromatophores, also called cyanophores, were added to the list of chromatophores. Many of them are also known to possess cellular motility, by which fish are able to change their integumentary hues and patterns, thus enabling them to execute remarkable or subtle chromatic adaptation to environmental hues and patterns, and to cope with various ethological encounters. Such physiological color changes are indeed crucial for them to survive, either by protecting themselves from predators or by increasing their chances of feeding. Sometimes, they are also useful in courtship and mutual communications among individuals of the same species, leading to an increased rate of species survival. Such strategies are realized by complex mechanisms existing in the endocrine and/or nervous systems. Current studies further indicate that some paracrine factors such as endothelins (ETs) are involved in these processes. In this review, the elaborate mechanisms regulating chromatophores in these lovely aquatic animals are described.
包括黑素细胞、黄色素细胞、红色素细胞、白色素细胞和虹彩细胞在内的色素细胞，负责鱼类体表颜色的呈现。最近，蓝色色素细胞，也被称为蓝细胞，被列入色素细胞名单。人们还知道它们中的许多具有细胞运动能力，通过这种能力鱼类能够改变其体表颜色和图案，从而使它们能够对环境颜色和图案进行显著或微妙的颜色适应，并应对各种行为遭遇。这种生理颜色变化对它们的生存确实至关重要，要么通过保护自己免受捕食者侵害，要么通过增加觅食机会。有时，它们在求偶和同一物种个体之间的相互交流中也很有用，从而提高物种的生存几率。这些策略是通过内分泌和/或神经系统中存在的复杂机制实现的。目前的研究进一步表明，一些旁分泌因子，如内皮素（ETs），参与了这些过程。在这篇综述中，描述了调节这些可爱水生动物色素细胞的精细机制。
