Nakamura T, Mito T, Bando T, Ohuchi H, Noji S
Department of Life Systems, Institute of Technology and Science, University of Tokushima, 2-1 Minami-Jyosanjima-cho, Tokushima City, 770-8506, Japan.
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2008 Jan;65(1):64-72. doi: 10.1007/s00018-007-7432-0.
Nymphs of hemimetabolous insects such as cockroaches and crickets exhibit a remarkable capacity for regenerating complex structures from damaged legs. Until recent years, however, approaches to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the leg regeneration process have been lacking. Taking the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus as a model, we found that a phenotype related to regeneration frequently appears during leg regeneration, even though no phenotype is induced by RNA interference (RNAi) in the cricket nymph, designated as regeneration-dependent RNAi. Since then, we have investigated the functions of various genes encoding signaling factors and cellular adhesion proteins like Fat and Dachsous during leg regeneration. In this review, we summarize the classical knowledge about insect leg regeneration and introduce recent advances concerning the signaling cascades required for regenerating a leg. Our results provide clues to the mechanisms of regeneration which are relevant to vertebrate systems.
蟑螂和蟋蟀等不完全变态昆虫的若虫在从受损腿部再生复杂结构方面表现出非凡的能力。然而，直到近年来，仍缺乏阐明腿部再生过程潜在分子机制的方法。以双斑蟋作为模型，我们发现，即使在若虫期通过RNA干扰（RNAi）未诱导出任何表型，但在腿部再生过程中，与再生相关的表型经常出现，我们将其称为依赖再生的RNAi。从那时起，我们研究了各种编码信号因子和细胞粘附蛋白（如Fat和Dachsous）的基因在腿部再生过程中的功能。在这篇综述中，我们总结了关于昆虫腿部再生的经典知识，并介绍了腿部再生所需信号级联反应的最新进展。我们的研究结果为与脊椎动物系统相关的再生机制提供了线索。
