Podbilewicz B, White J G
Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, England.
Dev Biol. 1994 Feb;161(2):408-24. doi: 10.1006/dbio.1994.1041.
In this paper we characterize the order of hypodermal cell fusions in the Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite. Somatic cell fusions are part of the developmental program of many tissues in a variety of organisms. The formation and remodeling of tissues and organs can be studied at the cellular level in C. elegans. Here we establish a system for studying cell fusion by characterizing somatic cell fusions during morphogenesis in C. elegans. Fusion is a common cell fate in this nematode; numerous epithelial fusions occur in the hypodermis, vulva, uterus, and excretory gland cells (Sulston et al., 1983. Dev. Biol. 100, 64-119). Some but not all pharyngeal muscles also fuse (Albertson and Thomson, 1976. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London Ser. B 275, 299-325). We have studied the behavior of epithelial adherens junctions before and during cell-to-cell fusions in embryonic and postembryonic development. Our results define the timing and sequence of short-range migrations followed by fusions that generate syncytia. We have made use of an antibody that stains adherens junctions to study the behavior of hypodermal cells during development. Fusion of specific cells in the hypodermis causes rearrangements of the adherens junctions between cells. Fusion events usually start in the anterior part of embryos or larvae. There is some variation in the specific order in which cells fuse, but the final positions, boundaries, and sizes of syncytia are the same. In some cases fusion causes isolation of a mononucleate cell or group of cells by a surrounding, growing syncytium. Our characterization of the order of cell fusions will provide a basis for the identification of molecular events required for regulated membrane fusion during development.
在本文中，我们描述了秀丽隐杆线虫雌雄同体皮下细胞融合的顺序。体细胞融合是多种生物体中许多组织发育程序的一部分。秀丽隐杆线虫可以在细胞水平上研究组织和器官的形成与重塑。在这里，我们通过描述秀丽隐杆线虫形态发生过程中的体细胞融合，建立了一个研究细胞融合的系统。融合是这种线虫常见的细胞命运；皮下组织、阴门、子宫和排泄腺细胞中发生了大量上皮融合（Sulston等人，1983年。《发育生物学》100卷，64 - 119页）。一些但并非所有咽部肌肉也会融合（Albertson和Thomson，1976年。《伦敦皇家学会哲学学报》B辑275卷，299 - 325页）。我们研究了胚胎期和胚后期发育中细胞间融合之前和期间上皮黏附连接的行为。我们的结果确定了随后产生多核细胞的短程迁移以及融合的时间和顺序。我们利用一种能对黏附连接进行染色的抗体来研究发育过程中皮下细胞的行为。皮下特定细胞的融合会导致细胞间黏附连接的重排。融合事件通常始于胚胎或幼虫的前部。细胞融合的具体顺序存在一些差异，但多核细胞的最终位置、边界和大小是相同的。在某些情况下，融合会导致单个单核细胞或一组细胞被周围生长的多核细胞隔离。我们对细胞融合顺序的描述将为鉴定发育过程中调控膜融合所需的分子事件提供基础。
