First published online August 10, 2007
Development 134, 1705e (2007)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Gap junctional talk regulates adult stem cells
Adult stem cells are regulated by interactions with neighbouring
differentiated cells, but what is the molecular basis of these interactions?
Such information would be useful in the context of regenerative medicine and
cancer biology. Now, Oviedo and Levin report that, in the planarian worm
Schmidtea mediterranea, the regulation of neoblasts (adult stem cells
that proliferate after injury and regenerate damaged tissues) requires
smedinx-11, which encodes an innexin, an invertebrate gap junction
protein (see p.
3121). The researchers investigated innexin transcripts in S.
mediterranea as potential regulators of neoblasts because gap
junction-permeable signals have been implicated in embryonic patterning and
morphogenesis. They show that smedinx-11 is expressed in the
neoblasts and that treatment of the worms with smedinx-11 RNAi
abrogates neoblast proliferation and inhibits regeneration. It also prevents
neoblast maintenance and disrupts the normal anterior-posterior gradient of
mitotic neoblasts. The researchers suggest, therefore, that gap junctional
communication regulates the interactions of adult stem cells with
differentiated cells that control their behaviour in multicellular
organisms.
Related articles in Development:
- smedinx-11 is a planarian stem cell gap junction gene required for regeneration and homeostasis
- Néstor J. Oviedo and Michael Levin
Development 2007 134: 3121-3131.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
