August 2024
フィブリノペプチドAの力で蚊を満足させる蚊帳
Female mosquitoes suck blood to mature their eggs. It has been reported that fibrinopeptide A (FPA), which is cleaved from fibrinogen α chain during blood coagulation, makes mosquitoes feel 'full' and stop sucking blood (Sakuma et al. (2024) Cell Reports 43: 114354, DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114354). The mother in this painting is trying to use a mosquito net imbued with the ability of FPA to override the child's nightmare of a blood-sucking mosquito with the image of a satiated mosquito. In addition to fibrinogen and FPA, the mother's kimono shows schematic images of fibrin that has just begun to coagulate.
雌の蚊は卵を成熟させるために吸血するが、血液凝固の過程でフィブリノゲンα鎖から切り出されたフィブリノペプチドA(FPA)が蚊に「満腹」を感じさせ、吸血を止めさせることが報告された(Sakuma et al. (2024) Cell Reports 43: 114354, DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114354)。この絵の母親は、FPAの能力をまとった蚊帳を使って、子どもが見ている吸血中の蚊の悪夢を、満腹の蚊のイメージで上書きしてやろうとしている。母親の着物にはフィブリノゲン・FPAと、凝固し始めたフィブリンの模式図が描かれている。
July 2024
2つのミオシンの違いが生み出す体の左右軸
In establishing the left-right axis of the body in Drosophila, a torsion-like deformation of the cell occurs (cell chirality). Two myosin Is, Myo1D and Myo1C, are thought to be involved in this process, producing right-handed and left-handed cell chirality, respectively. A paper published in the May issue of this journal (Utsunomiya et al. (2024) Genes Cells 29: 380-396, DOI: 10.1111/gtc.13110) reported that when these myosin Is were expressed in macrophages to observe their interactions with the membrane at the single-molecule level, Myo1D exhibited mobility consistent with free diffusion, whereas Myo1C showed notably lower mobility. This picture, depicting two vortices in a strait, aptly illustrates their differences. Compared to the fast currents that produce the right-handed vortex in the back, the currents of the left-handed vortex in the foreground are docile.
ショウジョウバエで体の左右軸が決まる際には、細胞にねじれのような変形が生じる(細胞キラリティ)。これには2つのミオシンI(Myo1DとMyo1C)が関与しており、それぞれが右向きと左向きの細胞キラリティを生み出すと考えられている。本年5月号の当誌に掲載された論文(Utsunomiya et al. (2024) Genes Cells 29: 380-396, DOI: 10.1111/gtc.13110)で、これらのミオシンIをマクロファージで発現させて膜との相互作用を1分子観察すると、Myo1Dは自由拡散に匹敵する移動度を示すのに対し、Myo1Cの移動度は著しく低いことが報告された。海峡に生じた2つの渦を描いたこの絵は、その違いをちょうどうまく表現している。奥の右巻きの渦を生み出す速い潮流に比べ、手前の左巻きの渦の潮流はおとなしい。