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Rotating pigment cells exhibit an intrinsic chirality
Author(s) -
Yamanaka Hiroaki,
Kondo Shigeru
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
genes to cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1365-2443
pISSN - 1356-9597
DOI - 10.1111/gtc.12194
Subject(s) - biology , chirality (physics) , zebrafish , cytoskeleton , microbiology and biotechnology , multicellular organism , morphogenesis , clockwise , danio , biophysics , rotation (mathematics) , cell , genetics , physics , geometry , symmetry breaking , gene , chiral symmetry breaking , mathematics , quantum mechanics , nambu–jona lasinio model
In multicellular organisms, cell properties, such as shape, size and function are important in morphogenesis and physiological functions. Recently, ‘cellular chirality’ has attracted attention as a cellular property because it can cause asymmetry in the bodies of animals. In recent in vitro studies, the left–right bias of cellular migration and of autonomous arrangement of cells under some specific culture conditions were discovered. However, it is difficult to identify the molecular mechanism underlying their intrinsic chirality because the left–right bias observed to date is subtle or is manifested in the stable orientation of cells. Here, we report that zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) melanophores exhibit clear cellular chirality by unidirectional counterclockwise rotational movement under isolated conditions without any special settings. The chirality is intrinsic to melanophores because the direction of the cellular rotation was not affected by the type of extracellular matrix. We further found that the cellular rotation was generated as a counter action of the clockwise movement of actin cytoskeleton. It suggested that the mechanism that directs actin cytoskeleton in the clockwise direction is pivotal for determining cellular chirality.