Newman A P, White J G, Sternberg P W
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 91125, USA.
Development. 1995 Feb;121(2):263-71. doi: 10.1242/dev.121.2.263.
The anchor cell (AC) of the Caenorhabditis elegans gonad has a critical role in the development of a functional egg-laying system, which is accomplished through cell-cell interactions. Lateral inhibitory lin-12-mediated signaling among two bipotential cells causes one to adopt the ventral uterine precursor (VU) cell fate while the other becomes the AC. The AC then induces formation of vulval tissue. We find that the AC also induces a particular ventral uterine intermediate precursor fate (pi) by a mechanism that is genetically and temporally distinct from vulval induction. This process requires lin-12, but unlike previously described lin-12-mediated decisions, signaling is unidirectional, is between dissimilar cells and does not involve lateral inhibition. The pi fates are necessary for egg laying and appear to produce a distinct specialized cell type. Thus, patterning of the ventral uterus by the AC is crucial to the development of a functional egg-laying system.
秀丽隐杆线虫性腺的锚定细胞（AC）在功能性产卵系统的发育中起关键作用，这一过程通过细胞间相互作用来完成。两个双能细胞之间由侧向抑制性lin-12介导的信号传导，使其中一个细胞采用腹侧子宫前体细胞（VU）的命运，而另一个则成为AC。然后，AC诱导外阴组织的形成。我们发现，AC还通过一种在遗传和时间上与外阴诱导不同的机制，诱导特定的腹侧子宫中间前体细胞命运（pi）。这一过程需要lin-12，但与先前描述的lin-12介导的决定不同，信号传导是单向的，发生在不同类型的细胞之间，且不涉及侧向抑制。pi命运对于产卵是必需的，并且似乎产生一种独特的特化细胞类型。因此，AC对腹侧子宫的模式形成对于功能性产卵系统的发育至关重要。
