The role of intracellular organelles to regulate spatial organizations of the cell

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18H02414
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 43040:Biophysics-related
• Research Institution: National Institute of Genetics
• Principal Investigator: KIMURA AKATSUKI 国立遺伝学研究所, 遺伝メカニズム研究系, 教授 (10365447)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 線虫 / 細胞核 / 細胞質流動 / オルガネラ / 力学 / 数理モデル

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Inside the cell, various dynamic movements of its interior structures are observed, such as the cell nucleus’s movement from the edge to the center of the cell, or the cytoplasmic streaming throughout the cell. We have been proposing that intracellular organelles such as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) play an important role in these dynamic movements as mechanical elements that generate and integrate forces. In this research project, we were able to demonstrate that intracellular movements with organelles as mechanical elements are important for cellular dynamics. The dynamics included the mode of cell division and the formation of the body axis of an individual. The studies were conducted by combining microscopic observation of a nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, and mathematical modeling.

Free Research Field

細胞生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

細胞内小器官は従来は細胞内のエネルギー産生や物質のリサイクルなど、その機能的役割に注目されてきたが、細胞内の相当な体積を占める構造体であり、細胞骨格と連結されているなど細胞内の力学的要素としても重要な役割を果たすことが疑われる。これまで注目されていなかったこの役割に本研究では迫り、細胞がどのように分裂するか、身体の前後軸がどのように決定されるか、といった重要な制御にオルガネラが細胞内の重要な力学的要素として関わっていることを明らかにした。