scholarly journals Mad dephosphorylation at the nuclear pore is essential for asymmetric stem cell division

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (13) ◽  
pp. e2006786118
Author(s):  
Justin Sardi ◽  
Muhammed Burak Bener ◽  
Taylor Simao ◽  
Abigail E. Descoteaux ◽  
Boris M. Slepchenko ◽  
...  

Stem cells divide asymmetrically to generate a stem cell and a differentiating daughter cell. Yet, it remains poorly understood how a stem cell and a differentiating daughter cell can receive distinct levels of niche signal and thus acquire different cell fates (self-renewal versus differentiation), despite being adjacent to each other and thus seemingly exposed to similar levels of niche signaling. In the Drosophila ovary, germline stem cells (GSCs) are maintained by short range bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling; the BMP ligands activate a receptor that phosphorylates the downstream molecule mothers against decapentaplegic (Mad). Phosphorylated Mad (pMad) accumulates in the GSC nucleus and activates the stem cell transcription program. Here, we demonstrate that pMad is highly concentrated in the nucleus of the GSC, while it quickly decreases in the nucleus of the differentiating daughter cell, the precystoblast (preCB), before the completion of cytokinesis. We show that a known Mad phosphatase, Dullard (Dd), is required for the asymmetric partitioning of pMad. Our mathematical modeling recapitulates the high sensitivity of the ratio of pMad levels to the Mad phosphatase activity and explains how the asymmetry arises in a shared cytoplasm. Together, these studies reveal a mechanism for breaking the symmetry of daughter cells during asymmetric stem cell division.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Sardi ◽  
Muhammed Burak Bener ◽  
Taylor Simao ◽  
Abigail E. Descoteaux ◽  
Boris M. Slepchenko ◽  
...  

SummaryStem cell niche signals act over a short range so that only stem cells but not the differentiating daughter cells receive the self-renewal signals. Drosophila female germline stem cells (GSCs) are maintained by short range BMP signaling; BMP ligands Dpp/Gbb activate receptor Tkv to phosphorylate Mad (phosphor-Mad or pMad) which accumulates in the GSC nucleus and activates the stem cell transcription program. pMad is highly concentrated in the nucleus of the GSC, but is immediately downregulated in the nucleus of the pre-cystoblast (preCB), a differentiating daughter cell, that is displaced away from the niche. Here we show that this asymmetry in the intensity of pMad is formed even before the completion of cytokinesis. A delay in establishing the pMad asymmetry leads to germline tumors through conversion of differentiating cells into a stem cell-like state. We show that a Mad phosphatase Dullard (Dd) interacts with Mad at the nuclear pore, where it may dephosphorylate Mad. A mathematical model explains how an asymmetry can be established in a common cytoplasm. It also demonstrates that the ratio of pMad concentrations in GSC/preCB is highly sensitive to Mad dephosphorylation rate. Our study reveals a previously unappreciated mechanism for breaking symmetry between daughter cells during asymmetric stem cell division.


Development ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.N. Cox ◽  
A. Chao ◽  
H. Lin

piwi represents the first class of genes known to be required for stem cell self-renewal in diverse organisms. In the Drosophila ovary, piwi is required in somatic signaling cells to maintain germline stem cells. Here we show that piwi encodes a novel nucleoplasmic protein present in both somatic and germline cells, with the highly conserved C-terminal region essential for its function. Removing PIWI protein from single germline stem cells significantly decreases the rate of their division. This suggests that PIWI has a second role as a cell-autonomous promoter of germline stem cell division. Consistent with its dual function, over-expression of piwi in somatic cells causes an increase both in the number of germline stem cells and the rate of their division. Thus, PIWI is a key regulator of stem cell division - its somatic expression modulates the number of germline stem cells and the rate of their division, while its germline expression also contributes to promoting stem cell division in a cell-autonomous manner.


eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cuie Chen ◽  
Mayu Inaba ◽  
Zsolt G Venkei ◽  
Yukiko M Yamashita

Asymmetric stem cell division is often accompanied by stereotypical inheritance of the mother and daughter centrosomes. However, it remains unknown whether and how stem cell centrosomes are uniquely regulated and how this regulation may contribute to stem cell fate. Here we identify Klp10A, a microtubule-depolymerizing kinesin of the kinesin-13 family, as the first protein enriched in the stem cell centrosome in Drosophila male germline stem cells (GSCs). Depletion of klp10A results in abnormal elongation of the mother centrosomes in GSCs, suggesting the existence of a stem cell-specific centrosome regulation program. Concomitant with mother centrosome elongation, GSCs form asymmetric spindle, wherein the elongated mother centrosome organizes considerably larger half spindle than the other. This leads to asymmetric cell size, yielding a smaller differentiating daughter cell. We propose that klp10A functions to counteract undesirable asymmetries that may result as a by-product of achieving asymmetries essential for successful stem cell divisions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 217 (11) ◽  
pp. 3785-3795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsolt G. Venkei ◽  
Yukiko M. Yamashita

The asymmetric cell division of stem cells, which produces one stem cell and one differentiating cell, has emerged as a mechanism to balance stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. Elaborate cellular mechanisms that orchestrate the processes required for asymmetric cell divisions are often shared between stem cells and other asymmetrically dividing cells. During asymmetric cell division, cells must establish asymmetry/polarity, which is guided by varying degrees of intrinsic versus extrinsic cues, and use intracellular machineries to divide in a desired orientation in the context of the asymmetry/polarity. Recent studies have expanded our knowledge on the mechanisms of asymmetric cell divisions, revealing the previously unappreciated complexity in setting up the cellular and/or environmental asymmetry, ensuring binary outcomes of the fate determination. In this review, we summarize recent progress in understanding the mechanisms and regulations of asymmetric stem cell division.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Molinari ◽  
David L. Shis ◽  
James Chappell ◽  
Oleg A. Igoshin ◽  
Matthew R. Bennett

AbstractA defining property of stem cells is their ability to differentiate via asymmetric cell division, in which a stem cell creates a differentiated daughter cell but retains its own phenotype. Here, we describe a synthetic genetic circuit for controlling asymmetrical cell division in Escherichia coli. Specifically, we engineered an inducible system that can bind and segregate plasmid DNA to a single position in the cell. Upon division, the co-localized plasmids are kept by one and only one of the daughter cells. The other daughter cell receives no plasmid DNA and is hence irreversibly differentiated from its sibling. In this way, we achieved asymmetric cell division though asymmetric plasmid partitioning. We also characterized an orthogonal inducible circuit that enables the simultaneous asymmetric partitioning of two plasmid species – resulting in pluripotent cells that have four distinct differentiated states. These results point the way towards engineering multicellular systems from prokaryotic hosts.


eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tisha E Bohr ◽  
Divya A Shiroor ◽  
Carolyn E Adler

In order to regenerate tissues successfully, stem cells must detect injuries and restore missing cell types through largely unknown mechanisms. Planarian flatworms have an extensive stem cell population responsible for regenerating any organ after amputation. Here, we compare planarian stem cell responses to different injuries by either amputation of a single organ, the pharynx, or removal of tissues from other organs by decapitation. We find that planarian stem cells adopt distinct behaviors depending on what tissue is missing to target progenitor and tissue production towards missing tissues. Loss of non-pharyngeal tissues only increases non-pharyngeal progenitors, while pharynx removal selectively triggers division and expansion of pharynx progenitors. By pharmacologically inhibiting either mitosis or activation of the MAP kinase ERK, we identify a narrow window of time during which stem cell division and ERK signaling produces pharynx progenitors necessary for regeneration. These results indicate that planarian stem cells can tailor their output to match the regenerative needs of the animal.


2008 ◽  
Vol 180 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haifan Lin

Stem cells present a vast, new terrain of cell biology. A central question in stem cell research is how stem cells achieve asymmetric divisions to replicate themselves while producing differentiated daughter cells. This hallmark of stem cells is manifested either strictly during each mitosis or loosely among several divisions. Current research has revealed the crucial roles of niche signaling, intrinsic cell polarity, subcellular localization mechanism, asymmetric centrosomes and spindles, as well as cell cycle regulators in establishing self-renewing asymmetry during stem cell division. Much of this progress has benefited from studies in model stem cell systems such as Drosophila melanogaster neuroblasts and germline stem cells and mammalian skin stem cells. Further investigations of these questions in diverse types of stem cells will significantly advance our knowledge of cell biology and allow us to effectively harness stem cells for therapeutic applications.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Reilein ◽  
David Melamed ◽  
Simon Tavaré ◽  
Daniel Kalderon

SUMMARYCancer-initiating gatekeeper mutations that arise in stem cells would be especially potent if they stabilize and expand an affected stem lineage (1, 2). It is therefore important to understand how different stem cell organization strategies promote or prevent variant stem cell amplification in response to different types of mutation, including those that activate stem cell proliferation. Stem cell numbers can be maintained constant while producing differentiated products through individually asymmetric division outcomes or by population asymmetry strategies, in which individual stem cell lineages necessarily compete for niche space. We considered alternative mechanisms underlying population asymmetry and used quantitative modeling to predict starkly different consequences of altering proliferation rate: a variant, faster-proliferating mutant stem cell should compete better only when stem cell division and differentiation are independent processes. For most types of stem cell it has not been possible to ascertain experimentally whether division and differentiation are coupled. However, Drosophila Follicle Stem Cells (FSCs) provided a favorable model system to investigate population asymmetry mechanisms and also for measuring the impact of altered proliferation on competition. We found from detailed cell lineage studies that FSC division and FSC differentiation are not coupled. We also found that FSC representation, reflecting maintenance and amplification, was highly responsive to genetic changes that altered only the rate of FSC proliferation. The FSC paradigm therefore provides definitive experimental evidence for the general principle that relative proliferation rate will always be a major determinant of competition among stem cells specifically when stem cell division and differentiation are independent.SIGNIFICANCEAdult stem cells support tissue maintenance throughout life but they also can be cells of origin for cancer, allowing clonal expansion and long-term maintenance of the first oncogenic mutations. We considered how a mutation that increases the proliferation rate of a stem cell would affect the probability of its competitive survival and amplification for different potential organizations of stem cells. Quantitative modeling showed that the key characteristic predicting the impact of relative proliferation rate on competition is whether differentiation of a stem cell is coupled to its division. We then used Drosophila Follicle Stem Cells to provide definitive experimental evidence for the general prediction that relative proliferation rates dictate stem cell competition specifically for stem cells that exhibit division-independent differentiation.


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