Proliferative Stem Cells Maintain Quiescence of Their Niche by Secreting the Activin Inhibitor Follistatin

Overview

Journal Dev Cell

Publisher Cell Press

Specialties Cell Biology
Reproductive Medicine

Date 2021 Aug 7

PMID 34363758

Citations 16

Authors

Salvador C Herrera

Diego Sainz de la Maza

Lydia Grmai

Shally Margolis

Rebecca Plessel

Michael Burel

Michael OConnor

Marc Amoyel

Erika A Bach

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Aging causes stem cell dysfunction as a result of extrinsic and intrinsic changes. Decreased function of the stem cell niche is an important contributor to this dysfunction. We use the Drosophila testis to investigate what factors maintain niche cells. The testis niche comprises quiescent "hub" cells and supports two mitotic stem cell pools: germline stem cells and somatic cyst stem cells (CySCs). We identify the cell-cycle-responsive Dp/E2f1 transcription factor as a crucial non-autonomous regulator required in CySCs to maintain hub cell quiescence. Dp/E2f1 inhibits local Activin ligands through production of the Activin antagonist Follistatin (Fs). Inactivation of Dp/E2f1 or Fs in CySCs or promoting Activin receptor signaling in hub cells causes transdifferentiation of hub cells into fully functional CySCs. This Activin-dependent communication between CySCs and hub regulates the physiological decay of the niche with age and demonstrates that hub cell quiescence results from signals from surrounding stem cells.

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