美国斯坦福大学James E. Ferrell Jr课题组揭示了非洲爪蟾卵提取物中细胞样结构的自发形成。 相关论文发表于11月1日出版的国际学术期刊《科学》。

研究人员使用非洲爪蟾卵提取物证明，均质化处理的间期卵细胞质在约30分钟内可以自组织形成类似细胞的300至400微米长的隔室。这些细胞状隔室的形成需要三磷酸腺苷和微管聚合，但不需要添加去膜的精子的细胞核及其伴随的中心体或聚合的肌动蛋白。在添加了精子的循环提取物中，隔室经历了多个分裂和重组循环；在每个有丝分裂周期结束时，母体隔室会产生两个子细胞。

这些结果表明，细胞质可以产生早期胚胎的大部分空间结构和细胞周期功能。

研究人员表示，每个子代细胞都从其母细胞继承了两种物质：遗传信息以及大分子复合物和细胞器在空间结构上的互补。相对于已经成型的组织状态，尚不确定从头自组织能够产生何种程度的功能性细胞。

附：英文原文

Title: Spontaneous emergence of cell-like organization in Xenopus egg extracts

Author: Xianrui Cheng, James E. Ferrell

Issue&Volume: 2019/11/01

Abstract: Every daughter cell inherits two things from its mother: genetic information and a spatially organized complement of macromolecular complexes and organelles. The extent to which de novo self-organization, as opposed to inheritance of an already organized state, can suffice to yield functional cells is uncertain. We used Xenopus laevis egg extracts to show that homogenized interphase egg cytoplasm self-organizes over the course of ~30 minutes into compartments 300 to 400 micrometers in length that resemble cells. Formation of these cell-like compartments required adenosine triphosphate and microtubule polymerization but did not require added demembranated sperm nuclei with their accompanying centrosomes or actin polymerization. In cycling extracts with added sperm, the compartments underwent multiple cycles of division and reorganization, with mother compartments giving rise to two daughters at the end of each mitotic cycle. These results indicate that the cytoplasm can generate much of the spatial organization and cell cycle function of the early embryo.

DOI: 10.1126/science.aav7793

Source:

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6465/631