Spontaneous signal generation in motile cells and its physiological significance

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project Area: Cross-talk between moving cells and microenvironment as a basis of emerging order in multicellular systems
• Project/Area Number: 22111002
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Review Section: Biological Sciences
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: UEDA Masahiro 大阪大学, 理学(系)研究科(研究院), 教授 (40444517)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): TAKAGI Hiroaki 奈良県立医科大学, 物理学教室, 講師 (10444514) ; TOGASHI Yuichi 広島大学, 大学院理学研究科, 特任准教授 (50456919) ; NISHIMURA Shin I. 広島大学, 大学院理学研究科, 研究員 (60402541)
• Project Period (FY): 2010-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 自発性 / 自己組織化 / 興奮系 / イノシトールリン脂質 / シグナル伝達 / 細胞運動 / １分子イメージング / 細胞性粘菌

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this research, we aimed to clarify the mechanism by which random cell motility arises spontaneously based on the dynamics of intracellular reaction networks. We found that the Phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) lipids are self-organized to generate spontaneous signals for random motility. Characteristic oscillatory dynamics within the PtdIns lipids system were determined experimentally and the reaction-diffusion model was developed to reproduce the characteristic oscillatory dynamics. Results show that the self-organization of the PtdIns lipids system provides the noise-robust mechanisms necessary to establish the spontaneous motility. In addition, the molecular noise can give rise to the phenotypic variability and thus be the origin of the spontaneous signals observed in random cellular motility. The model suggests that random cell motility is affected by the molecular noise, and that it contributes to adaptability and a flexible search strategy in a changing and complex environment.

Free Research Field

生物物理学