Director's Research Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Meyerhofstr. 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany; Collaboration for Joint PhD degree from EMBL and Heidelberg University, Faculty of Biosciences, Germany.
Dev Biol. 2019 Jul 1;451(1):5-15. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2018.12.001. Epub 2018 Dec 4.
The terminal cells of the tracheal epithelium in Drosophila melanogaster are one of the few known cell types that undergo subcellular morphogenesis to achieve a stable, branched shape. During the animal's larval stages, the cells repeatedly sprout new cytoplasmic processes. These grow very long, wrapping around target tissues to which the terminal cells adhere, and are hollowed by a gas-filled subcellular tube for oxygen delivery. Our understanding of this ramification process remains rudimentary. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of studies on terminal cells to date, and attempts to extrapolate how terminal branches might be formed based on the known genetic and molecular components. Next to this cell-intrinsic branching mechanism, we examine the extrinsic regulation of terminal branching by the target tissue and the animal's environment. Finally, we assess the degree of similarity between the patterns established by the branching programs of terminal cells and other branched cells and tissues from a mathematical and conceptual point of view.
果蝇气管上皮的终末细胞是少数已知的经历亚细胞形态发生以获得稳定分支形状的细胞类型之一。在动物的幼虫阶段，细胞反复长出新的细胞质突起。这些突起生长得非常长，围绕着终末细胞附着的靶组织缠绕，并被一个充满气体的亚细胞管抽空，以输送氧气。我们对这个分支过程的理解仍然很基础。本综述旨在提供迄今为止关于终末细胞的研究的全面总结，并尝试根据已知的遗传和分子成分推断出终末分支是如何形成的。除了这种细胞内在的分支机制，我们还研究了靶组织和动物环境对终末分支的外在调节。最后，我们从数学和概念的角度评估了由终末细胞的分支程序建立的模式与其他分支细胞和组织之间的相似程度。
