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Stem cell niche exit in C. elegans via orientation and segregation of daughter cells by a cryptic cell outside the niche.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Gordon, KL; Zussman, JW; Li, X; Miller, C; Sherwood, DR
Published in: eLife
July 2020

Stem cells reside in and rely upon their niche to maintain stemness but must balance self-renewal with the production of daughters that leave the niche to differentiate. We discovered a mechanism of stem cell niche exit in the canonical C. elegans distal tip cell (DTC) germ stem cell niche mediated by previously unobserved, thin, membranous protrusions of the adjacent somatic gonad cell pair (Sh1). A disproportionate number of germ cell divisions were observed at the DTC-Sh1 interface. Stem-like and differentiating cell fates segregated across this boundary. Spindles polarized, pairs of daughter cells oriented between the DTC and Sh1, and Sh1 grew over the Sh1-facing daughter. Impeding Sh1 growth by RNAi to cofilin and Arp2/3 perturbed the DTC-Sh1 interface, reduced germ cell proliferation, and shifted a differentiation marker. Because Sh1 membrane protrusions eluded detection for decades, it is possible that similar structures actively regulate niche exit in other systems.

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Published In

eLife

DOI

EISSN

2050-084X

ISSN

2050-084X

Publication Date

July 2020

Volume

9

Start / End Page

e56383

Related Subject Headings

  • Stem Cells
  • Stem Cell Niche
  • RNA Interference
  • Germ Cells
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Caenorhabditis elegans
  • Animals
  • Actin-Related Protein 2-3 Complex
  • Actin Depolymerizing Factors
  • 42 Health sciences
 

Citation

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Gordon, K. L., Zussman, J. W., Li, X., Miller, C., & Sherwood, D. R. (2020). Stem cell niche exit in C. elegans via orientation and segregation of daughter cells by a cryptic cell outside the niche. ELife, 9, e56383. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.56383
Gordon, Kacy L., Jay W. Zussman, Xin Li, Camille Miller, and David R. Sherwood. “Stem cell niche exit in C. elegans via orientation and segregation of daughter cells by a cryptic cell outside the niche.ELife 9 (July 2020): e56383. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.56383.
Gordon, Kacy L., et al. “Stem cell niche exit in C. elegans via orientation and segregation of daughter cells by a cryptic cell outside the niche.ELife, vol. 9, July 2020, p. e56383. Epmc, doi:10.7554/elife.56383.

Published In

eLife

DOI

EISSN

2050-084X

ISSN

2050-084X

Publication Date

July 2020

Volume

9

Start / End Page

e56383

Related Subject Headings

  • Stem Cells
  • Stem Cell Niche
  • RNA Interference
  • Germ Cells
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Caenorhabditis elegans
  • Animals
  • Actin-Related Protein 2-3 Complex
  • Actin Depolymerizing Factors
  • 42 Health sciences