Menton D N
J Invest Dermatol. 1976 May;66(5):283-91. doi: 10.1111/1523-1747.ep12482234.
The possiblity that the organization of cells into columns in the mammalian epidermis may be a result of the close packing of these cells has been investigated in a model system involving the association of randomly produced soap bubbles into a stable froth. Upon floating to the surface of a liquid, soap bubbles have been found to spontaneously assemble into precise columns of interdigitating bubbles. The tetrakaidecahedral shape and the spatial configuration of these bubbles closely resemble those of stacked epidermal cells, although the columns of a froth were oriented at a 60degrees angle to their substratum rather than at right angles as occurs in the epidermal cell columns. These observations lend support to the theory that the organization of the cells in the epidermis into columns is due to the assumption of the keratocytes of a minimum surface-close packing array. Such an organizing mechanism would be independent of both positional control of the underlying mitoses and active guidance of the cells as they become superficially displaced within the epidermis. The observation that a high rate of cell turnover is incompatible with the epidermal column structure may be related to the finding that rapidly produced soap bubbles do not, at least initially, assemble into a columnar array.
在一个涉及将随机产生的肥皂泡聚合成稳定泡沫的模型系统中，研究了哺乳动物表皮中细胞排列成柱状可能是这些细胞紧密堆积的结果这一可能性。当漂浮到液体表面时，肥皂泡会自发地聚合成相互交错的精确柱状气泡。这些气泡的十四面体形状和空间构型与堆叠的表皮细胞非常相似，尽管泡沫的柱状结构与其基质成60度角，而不是像表皮细胞柱那样成直角。这些观察结果支持了这样一种理论，即表皮中细胞排列成柱状是由于角质形成细胞呈现出最小表面紧密堆积阵列。这样一种组织机制将独立于底层有丝分裂的位置控制以及细胞在表皮内表面移位时的主动引导。细胞高周转率与表皮柱状结构不相容这一观察结果可能与快速产生的肥皂泡至少在最初不会聚合成柱状阵列这一发现有关。
