When scientists move from one lab to another, the inevitable change in reagents or mysterious new water properties can vex even the most robust of experimental set-ups. But for Masatoshi Takeichi, a change in the recipe for a trypsin solution when he moved from Kyoto University to the Carnegie Institution Department of Embryology eventually led to his seminal discovery of the cadherin family of adhesion molecules.
Takeichi started investigating the role for divalent cations in cell adhesion as a graduate student in Kyoto, where trypsin treatment of cells disrupted adhesion temporarily before cells reaggregated. When he moved to Carnegie for a fellowship, trypsin treatment led to permanent disruption of adhesion. It turned out that the Carnegie trypsin contained the calcium-trapping molecule, EDTA, as well as the trypsin enzyme. This combination gave Takeichi a clear picture of how to test for calcium-dependent adhesion.
He disrupted Chinese...
