Molecular mechanism of size control in development and human diseases

Cell Res. 2011 May;21(5):715-29. doi: 10.1038/cr.2011.63. Epub 2011 Apr 12.

Abstract

How multicellular organisms control their size is a fundamental question that fascinated generations of biologists. In the past 10 years, tremendous progress has been made toward our understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying size control. Original studies from Drosophila showed that in addition to extrinsic nutritional and hormonal cues, intrinsic mechanisms also play important roles in the control of organ size during development. Several novel signaling pathways such as insulin and Hippo-LATS signaling pathways have been identified that control organ size by regulating cell size and/or cell number through modulation of cell growth, cell division, and cell death. Later studies using mammalian cell and mouse models also demonstrated that the signaling pathways identified in flies are also conserved in mammals. Significantly, recent studies showed that dysregulation of size control plays important roles in the development of many human diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and hypertrophy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Count
  • Cell Division
  • Disease*
  • Drosophila melanogaster / anatomy & histology
  • Drosophila melanogaster / growth & development
  • Embryonic Development*
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Organ Size / genetics
  • Signal Transduction