2026-08-04 理化学研究所,関西学院大学,科学技術振興機構
低アミノ酸の食餌で誘導された腸の細胞死（黒い部分）
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.riken.jp/press/2026/20260804_2/index.html
- https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2602724123
細胞質流動性は、生体内における栄養素の利用可能性と腸上皮細胞の運命を結びつける Cytoplasmic fluidity couples nutrient availability and enterocyte fate in vivo
Yukana Nakamura, Motohiro Morikawa, Tomomi Takano, and Sa Kan Yoo
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Published:August 4, 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2602724123
Abstract
Cells must continuously adapt their internal state to fluctuating nutritional environments. For the adaptation, cells sense distinct nutrients through specific molecular signals, such as the insulin and mTOR pathways. Here, in addition to the conventional nutrient-sensing mechanisms, we reveal a mechanistic layer by which gut enterocytes respond to dietary contents, demonstrating that nutritional components in food regulate cytoplasmic fluidity, a fundamental biophysical property and determine cellular status. We found that the quantity, rather than the quality, of amino acids alters the nanoscale cytoplasmic fluidity in Drosophila enterocytes and the frequency of erebosis, a nonapoptotic cell death mediating intestinal cell turnover. Manipulating cytoplasmic fluidity through several independent inert small viscogen molecules affects erebosis, indicating that intracellular fluidity can directly control cell fate decisions. We propose that intracellular nanoscale fluidity represents a fundamental principle for enterocytes to detect and adapt to dietary components, providing a biophysical basis for cellular homeostasis in vivo.
