馬渕 一誠

The signaling mechanism for cleavage in animal cells has been a problem to be clarified. We tested the working hypothesis that protein phosphorylation is involved in the signaling process by using inhibitors of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) and protein phosphatases, respectively, on sea urchin eggs. ML-9 interfered with formation of the cleavage furrow. On the other hand, calyculin A induced a cleavage-like shape change in unfertilized eggs. These results may support the above hypothesis.