Wang Zhong, Lin Haifan
Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Science. 2004 Mar 26;303(5666):2016-9. doi: 10.1126/science.1093983. Epub 2004 Feb 19.
Despite much progress in understanding how extrinsic signaling regulates stem cell self-renewal, little is known about how cell-autonomous gene regulation controls this process. In Drosophila ovaries, germline stem cells (GSCs) divide asymmetrically to produce daughter GSCs and cystoblasts, the latter of which develop into germline cysts. Here, we show that removing the translational repressor Nanos from either GSCs or their precursors, the primordial germ cells (PGCs), causes both cell types to differentiate into germline cysts. Thus, Nanos is essential for both establishing and maintaining GSCs by preventing their precocious entry into oogenesis. These functions are likely achieved by repressing the translation of differentiation factors in PGCs and GSCs.
尽管在理解外在信号如何调节干细胞自我更新方面取得了很大进展，但对于细胞自主基因调控如何控制这一过程却知之甚少。在果蝇卵巢中，生殖系干细胞（GSCs）不对称分裂产生子代GSCs和成囊母细胞，后者发育成生殖系囊肿。在这里，我们表明，从GSCs或其前体原始生殖细胞（PGCs）中去除翻译抑制因子Nanos会导致这两种细胞类型都分化为生殖系囊肿。因此，Nanos通过防止GSCs过早进入卵子发生过程，对于建立和维持GSCs至关重要。这些功能可能是通过抑制PGCs和GSCs中分化因子的翻译来实现的。
