Editor: Akhmetova Aigerim
Author: Aldiyarbek Nurlan
Researchers have long observed how non-specialized cells move in such a way that they stay together for a specific tissue. Back in 1964, American biologist Malcolm Steinberg suggested that cells with the same adhesion move in such a way that they come into contact with each other in order to minimize energy consumption, creating a thermodynamically stable structure. This is known as the differential adhesion hypothesis.
"Many other theoretical works highlight the importance of differences in cell-cell adhesion for separating populations of cells and maintaining boundaries between them, but this has not yet been demonstrated in epithelial tissues of living animals," says Erina Kuranaga of the Tohoku University laboratory.
Kuranaga and her team experimented with fruit fly pupae, finding that a gene called Toll-1 plays an important role in this adhesion process.
As fruit flies develop from an immature larval stage to a mature adult, epithelial tissue-forming cells, called histoblasts, cluster into several "nests" in the abdominal cavity. Each slot contains a front and rear compartment. Histoblasts are designed to replace larval cells to form the adult epidermis, the outermost layer that covers flies. The cells in each compartment form discrete populations of cells, so they must stick together to form a clear boundary between them.
Further research has shown that Toll-1 acts as an adhesion molecule, inducing similar cells to clump together. This process keeps the border between the two compartments straight, correcting the distortions that occur during cell division in order to increase their number.
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201224113114.htm
