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Abstract

Stem cells are characterized by their ability to self-renew and to produce numerous differentiated cell types, and are directly responsible for generating and maintaining tissues and organs. This property has long been attributed to the instructive signals that stem cells receive from their microenvironment - the so-called 'stem-cell niche'. Studies of stem cells in the Drosophila gonad have yielded much exciting insight into the structure of the niche and the signalling pathways that it produces to regulate the self-renewal of stem cells. These findings are illuminating our understanding of the self-renewing mechanisms of tissue stem cells in general.

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Label-retaining cells reside in the bulge area of pilosebaceous unit: implications for follicular stem cells, hair cycle, and skin carcinogenesis.

George Cotsarelis, Tung-Tien Sun, Robert Lavker (1990)

Inconsistent with the view that hair follicle stem cells reside in the matrix area of the hair bulb, we found that label-retaining cells exist exclusively in the bulge area of the mouse hair follicle. The bulge consists of a subpopulation of outer root sheath cells located in the midportion of the follicle at the arrector pili muscle attachment site. Keratinocytes in the bulge area are relatively undifferentiated ultrastructurally. They are normally slow cycling, but can be stimulated to proliferate transiently by TPA. Located in a well-protected and nourished environment, these cells mark the lower end of the "permanent" portion of the follicle. Our findings, plus a reevaluation of the literature, suggest that follicular stem cells reside in the bulge region, instead of the lower bulb. This new view provides insights into hair cycle control and the possible involvement of hair follicle stem cells in skin carcinogenesis.

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"Stemness": transcriptional profiling of embryonic and adult stem cells.

Miguel Ramalho-Santos, Soonsang Yoon, Yumi Matsuzaki … (2002)

The transcriptional profiles of mouse embryonic, neural, and hematopoietic stem cells were compared to define a genetic program for stem cells. A total of 216 genes are enriched in all three types of stem cells, and several of these genes are clustered in the genome. When compared to differentiated cell types, stem cells express a significantly higher number of genes (represented by expressed sequence tags) whose functions are unknown. Embryonic and neural stem cells have many similarities at the transcriptional level. These results provide a foundation for a more detailed understanding of stem cell biology.

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A novel class of evolutionarily conserved genes defined by piwi are essential for stem cell self-renewal.

D Cox, A. Chao, J. Baker … (1998)

Germ-line stem cells (GSCs) serve as the source for gametogenesis in diverse organisms. We cloned and characterized the Drosophila piwi gene and showed that it is required for the asymmetric division of GSCs to produce and maintain a daughter GSC but is not essential for the further differentiation of the committed daughter cell. Genetic mosaic and RNA in situ analyses suggest that piwi expression in adjacent somatic cells regulates GSC division. piwi encodes a highly basic novel protein, well conserved during evolution. We isolated piwi homologs in Caenorhabditis elegans and humans and also identified Arabidopsis piwi-like genes known to be required for meristem cell maintenance. Decreasing C. elegans piwi expression reduces the proliferation of GSC-equivalent cells. Thus, piwi represents a novel class of genes required for GSC division in diverse organisms.

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PubMed ID:: 12459723

DOI:: 10.1038/nrg952

ScienceOpen disciplines: Chemistry

Keywords: Animals,Cell Differentiation,physiology,Drosophila,genetics,metabolism,Female,Male,Ovary,Signal Transduction,Stem Cells,cytology,Testis

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Chemistry

Keywords: Animals, Cell Differentiation, physiology, Drosophila, genetics, metabolism, Female, Male, Ovary, Signal Transduction, Stem Cells, cytology, Testis

The stem-cell niche theory: lessons from flies.

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Abstract

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Universal stem cells

Most cited references 38

Label-retaining cells reside in the bulge area of pilosebaceous unit: implications for follicular stem cells, hair cycle, and skin carcinogenesis.

"Stemness": transcriptional profiling of embryonic and adult stem cells.

A novel class of evolutionarily conserved genes defined by piwi are essential for stem cell self-renewal.

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