scholarly journals Recent Advances in the Genetic, Anatomical, and Environmental Regulation of the C. elegans Germ Line Progenitor Zone

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Kacy Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cell Population ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Stem Cell Population ◽  
Developmental Genetics ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Genetic Features ◽  
Adult Hermaphrodite ◽  
Cell Niche

The C. elegans germ line and its gonadal support cells are well studied from a developmental genetics standpoint and have revealed many foundational principles of stem cell niche biology. Among these are the observations that a niche-like cell supports a self-renewing stem cell population with multipotential, differentiating daughter cells. While genetic features that distinguish stem-like cells from their differentiating progeny have been defined, the mechanisms that structure these populations in the germ line have yet to be explained. The spatial restriction of Notch activation has emerged as an important genetic principle acting in the distal germ line. Synthesizing recent findings, I present a model in which the germ stem cell population of the C. elegans adult hermaphrodite can be recognized as two distinct anatomical and genetic populations. This review describes the recent progress that has been made in characterizing the undifferentiated germ cells and gonad anatomy, and presents open questions in the field and new directions for research to pursue.

scholarly journals glp-3 Is Required for Mitosis and Meiosis in the Caenorhabditis elegans Germ Line

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa C Kadyk ◽  
Eric J Lambie ◽  
Judith Kimble
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Stem Cell Population ◽  
Phenotypic Characterization ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Dapi Staining ◽  
Cell Cycles ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Mitosis And Meiosis

The germ line is the only tissue in Caenorhabditis elegans in which a stem cell population continues to divide mitotically throughout life; hence the cell cycles of the germ line and the soma are regulated differently. Here we report the genetic and phenotypic characterization of the glp-3 gene. In animals homozygous for each of five recessive loss-of-function alleles, germ cells in both hermaphrodites and males fail to progress through mitosis and meiosis, but somatic cells appear to divide normally. Germ cells in animals grown at 15° appear by DAPI staining to be uniformly arrested at the G2/M transition with <20 germ cells per gonad on average, suggesting a checkpoint-mediated arrest. In contrast, germ cells in mutant animals grown at 25° frequently proliferate slowly during adulthood, eventually forming small germ lines with several hundred germ cells. Nevertheless, cells in these small germ lines never undergo meiosis. Double mutant analysis with mutations in other genes affecting germ cell proliferation supports the idea that glp-3 may encode a gene product that is required for the mitotic and meiotic cell cycles in the C. elegans germ line.

scholarly journals Targeting DNA Methylation Depletes Uterine Leiomyoma Stem Cell–enriched Population by Stimulating Their Differentiation

Endocrinology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 161 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shimeng Liu ◽  
Ping Yin ◽  
Jingting Xu ◽  
Ariel J Dotts ◽  
Stacy A Kujawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cell Population ◽  
Uterine Leiomyoma ◽  
Stem Cell Population ◽  
Epigenetic Landscape ◽  
Stem Cell Regulation ◽  
Integrative Analyses ◽  
Associated Functions ◽  
Intermediate Cells

Abstract Uterine leiomyoma (LM) is the most common tumor in women and can cause severe morbidity. Leiomyoma growth requires the maintenance and proliferation of a stem cell population. Dysregulated deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation has been reported in LM, but its role in LM stem cell regulation remains unclear. Here, we fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)-sorted cells from human LM tissues into 3 populations: LM stem cell–like cells (LSC, 5%), LM intermediate cells (LIC, 7%), and differentiated LM cells (LDC, 88%), and we analyzed the transcriptome and epigenetic landscape of LM cells at different differentiation stages. Leiomyoma stem cell–like cells harbored a unique methylome, with 8862 differentially methylated regions compared to LIC and 9444 compared to LDC, most of which were hypermethylated. Consistent with global hypermethylation, transcript levels of TET1 and TET3 methylcytosine dioxygenases were lower in LSC. Integrative analyses revealed an inverse relationship between methylation and gene expression changes during LSC differentiation. In LSC, hypermethylation suppressed the genes important for myometrium- and LM-associated functions, including muscle contraction and hormone action, to maintain stemness. The hypomethylating drug, 5′-Aza, stimulated LSC differentiation, depleting the stem cell population and inhibiting tumor initiation. Our data suggest that DNA methylation maintains the pool of LSC, which is critical for the regeneration of LM tumors.

The bulk of the hematopoietic stem cell population is dispensable for murine steady-state and stress hematopoiesis

2017 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. S105
Author(s):  
Alexander Gerbaulet ◽  
Kristina Schoedel ◽  
Mina Morcos ◽  
Thomas Zerjatke ◽  
Ingo Roeder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Steady State ◽  
Hematopoietic Stem Cell ◽  
Cell Population ◽  
Stem Cell Population ◽  
Hematopoietic Stem
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