Heppert Jennifer K, Goldstein Bob
Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA.
Nat Cell Biol. 2016 Nov 29;18(12):1267-1268. doi: 10.1038/ncb3449.
Work from the early 1980s reported strange lobes protruding from Caenorhabditis elegans germ cell precursors. However, the fate and potential significance of these lobes remained unexplored for decades. Now, neighbouring endodermal cells are shown to sever and digest these lobes, in an unexpected process of 'intercellular cannibalism', which could play an important part in regulating primordial germ cells.
20世纪80年代初的研究报告称，秀丽隐杆线虫生殖细胞前体上有奇怪的叶状突出物。然而，这些叶状突出物的命运和潜在意义在几十年里一直未被探索。现在发现，相邻的内胚层细胞会切断并消化这些叶状突出物，这是一个意想不到的“细胞间自相残杀”过程，可能在调节原始生殖细胞方面发挥重要作用。
