国立国際医療研究センターで研究されているp38α論文が掲載された8月号のCell Stem Cellが8/4にリリースされ、私は今回この雑誌の表紙の絵を描きました。
因みにCell Stem Cell は幹細胞生物学の全領域を網羅する学術誌です。
(実はCellでは以前荒木飛呂彦さんが表紙を飾ったこともあります!)

絵は論文の内容に沿っているのですが、
“血液の樹”を守るネコこと造血幹細胞が、猛禽類(=造血ストレス)にアタックされると
分裂して強そうなネコ科の動物になって血液の樹を守ろうとする”(引用)樹は陸ではなく水の上に生えている。
これは、随時増える細胞が地で止める事無く広がりを持たせるように体内の水分を表現しています。樹に実ってるのは血液細胞で色々描きました。

i drew illustration for a magazine called “Cell Stem Cell” released August 04, 2016.
I will explain about this picture.
As known, hematopoietic stem cell becomes split by hematopoiesis stress attack. And each split hematopoietic stem cells start counter attack to destroy hematopoiesis stress. I descriptive of this relationship by drawing hematopoietic stem as an animal from feline group and hematopoiesis stress as raptores.
The reason behind I chose those two animal groups to each position, I followed advise from my client at the beginning of this offer.
“As if the frail look animal transformed into something powerful, for example, animal with two heads or has extra wings by feeling of fear of attacking by others. And this transformation represents activated form of hematopoietic stem cells which also activated purine metabolism.”
By having this, I firstly came up with small helpless cats, and also I imagined feline group would suit since it includes fierce animal within a group.
Regarding the raptores, attacking action represents to hematopoiesis stress, I came up with birds flying over the sky and spread its wings would suit to this situation. Therefore, I chose those animals into my drawing.