Dipartimento di Biologia Cellulare e Ambientale, Universita' di Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
Med Hypotheses. 2010 May;74(5):847-54. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2009.11.033. Epub 2009 Dec 24.
Many tissues and cells in vertebrates are highly specialized and devoted to a single function through the action of a single molecule, that we call the "main product" (MP) of the cell. The hypothesis here proposed is that these MPs control all aspects of the cell life, namely activity, division, differentiation and apoptosis. Evidences supporting this hypothesis are reported for the immune system, pancreatic beta-cells, melanocytes, connective tissues, thyroid cells, skin and erythroid cells. In all cases cell division and differentiation is promoted by a normal activity of the MP, while hyperactivity leads to cell apoptosis. Evidences are also provided that alterations of the activity of the MP may elicit pathological disorders; in particular mutations altering the structure of the MP may elicit tumoural transformation.
脊椎动物的许多组织和细胞通过单一分子的作用高度专业化，并专门用于单一功能，我们称之为细胞的“主要产物”(MP)。这里提出的假设是，这些 MPs 控制着细胞生命的各个方面，即活动、分裂、分化和细胞凋亡。支持这一假设的证据在免疫系统、胰腺β细胞、黑素细胞、结缔组织、甲状腺细胞、皮肤和红细胞中都有报道。在所有情况下，细胞分裂和分化都是由 MP 的正常活性促进的，而过度活跃则导致细胞凋亡。也有证据表明，MP 活性的改变可能引发病理紊乱；特别是改变 MP 结构的突变可能引发肿瘤转化。
