Kovacevic Ismar, Cram Erin J
Department of Biology; Northeastern University; Boston, MA USA.
Worm. 2013 Jul 1;2(3):e25717. doi: 10.4161/worm.25717. Epub 2013 Jul 12.
Mechanical properties of the microenvironment are fundamental in orchestrating normal tissue function, disease progression, and organismal development. Studies of mechanotransduction in cultured cells on artificial substrates have revealed underlying principles, but the in vivo roles of mechanotransduction remain unclear. We recently reported that the Caenorhabditis elegans spermatheca-a myoepithelial tube composed of a cell monolayer-may be mechanosensitive. Live imaging with the genetically encoded calcium indicator GCaMP revealed that oocyte-induced stretching of the spermatheca resulted in calcium oscillations and constriction of the tube. FLN-1/filamin, a mechanosensitive cytoskeletal scaffolding protein, is required to correctly trigger the calcium transients. PLC-1/phospholipase C-epsilon and ITR-1/IP3 receptor are required to produce the calcium transients, and may function downstream of filamin. In addition to providing important insights into the biology of C. elegans, our studies offer a novel and genetically tractable model for studying mechanotransduction in a myoepithelial tissue.
微环境的力学特性在协调正常组织功能、疾病进展和机体发育方面至关重要。对人工基质上培养细胞的机械转导研究揭示了其潜在原理，但机械转导在体内的作用仍不清楚。我们最近报道，秀丽隐杆线虫的受精囊——一种由单层细胞组成的肌上皮管——可能具有机械敏感性。使用基因编码的钙指示剂GCaMP进行的实时成像显示，卵母细胞诱导的受精囊拉伸导致钙振荡和管腔收缩。FLN-1/细丝蛋白是一种机械敏感的细胞骨架支架蛋白，是正确触发钙瞬变所必需的。PLC-1/磷脂酶C-ε和ITR-1/IP3受体是产生钙瞬变所必需的，可能在细丝蛋白下游发挥作用。除了为秀丽隐杆线虫生物学提供重要见解外，我们的研究还为研究肌上皮组织中的机械转导提供了一个新的且具有遗传易处理性的模型。
