Amini Rana, Chartier Nicolas T, Labbé Jean-Claude
Institute of Research in Immunology and Cancer; Department of Pathology and Cell Biology ; University of Montréal ; Montréal, QC, Canada.
Biotechnology Center; Dresden University of Technology ; Tatzberg, Dresden, Germany.
Worm. 2015 Jan 28;4(1):e992665. doi: 10.4161/21624054.2014.992665. eCollection 2015 Jan-Mar.
At the end of mitosis, cells typically complete their division with cytokinesis. In certain tissues however, incomplete cytokinesis can give rise to cells that remain connected by intercellular bridges, thus forming a syncytium. Examples include the germline of many species, from fruitfly to humans, yet the mechanisms regulating syncytial formation and maintenance is unclear, and the biological relevance of syncytial organization remains largely speculative. To better understand these processes, we recently used the germline of Caenorhabditis elegans as a model for syncytium development. Analysis of the germline syncytial architecture throughout development revealed that it arises progressively during larval growth and that it relies on the activity of 2 actomyosin scaffold proteins of the Anillin family. Our work also showed that the gonad can sustain elastic deformation when under mechanical stress and that this property may be conferred by the malleability of syncytial openings. We suggest that elasticity and resistance to mechanical stress constitutes a general property of syncytial tissues.
在有丝分裂末期，细胞通常通过胞质分裂完成其分裂过程。然而，在某些组织中，不完全的胞质分裂会产生通过细胞间桥相连的细胞，从而形成合胞体。例子包括从果蝇到人类等许多物种的生殖系，但调节合胞体形成和维持的机制尚不清楚，合胞体组织的生物学相关性在很大程度上仍属推测。为了更好地理解这些过程，我们最近以秀丽隐杆线虫的生殖系作为合胞体发育的模型。对整个发育过程中生殖系合胞体结构的分析表明，它在幼虫生长过程中逐渐形成，并且依赖于膜收缩蛋白家族的两种肌动球蛋白支架蛋白的活性。我们的研究还表明，性腺在受到机械应力时能够承受弹性变形，并且这种特性可能由合胞体开口的柔韧性赋予。我们认为弹性和对机械应力的抵抗力是合胞体组织的普遍特性。
