In:
eLife, eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd, Vol. 3 ( 2014-09-08)
Abstract:
Progenitor cells are cells that can either multiply to make new copies of themselves or mature into different specialized cell types—such as blood cells. In the fruit fly Drosophila, new blood cells are formed in several different locations, including in an organ called the lymph gland. In 2011, researchers found that the fate of blood progenitor cells within the lymph gland is controlled by signals from two nearby sources—one from specialized, supportive (‘niche’) cells and the other from maturing blood cells. The signal from the maturing blood cells ensures that the relative amounts of progenitor and maturing blood cells are kept in the right balance. As a result, this signaling process has been called ‘equilibrium signaling’. Questions remain as to how equilibrium signaling is regulated, and how it interacts with signals from the niche. To investigate this, Mondal et al.—including some of the researchers involved in the 2011 work—used various genetic techniques to create Drosophila larvae in which the tissues that become blood cells are made visible with fluorescent proteins. This meant that these tissues could be examined in live, whole animals by using a microscope. Mondal et al. then searched for the Drosophila genes involved in generating new blood cells in the lymph gland—particularly those involved in equilibrium signaling. This was done by switching on and off hundreds of genes, one by one, in the lymph gland, and any genes that caused changes to the generation of new blood cells were then investigated further. Following these investigations, Mondal et al. focused on three genes—and when each of these genes was switched off in maturing blood cells, the result was that fewer progenitor cells remained in the lymph gland. This effect was not seen when the genes were switched off in the progenitor or the niche cells, which suggested that the genes are likely to be components of the equilibrium signaling pathway. Switching off these genes in maturing blood cells also dramatically reduced the levels of a protein called Pvr, a key equilibrium signaling protein known from the 2011 study and an important player in blood cell development in several species. How the newly identified genes actually control Pvr protein levels to maintain proper equilibrium signaling in the lymph gland remains to be explored. However, this work provides a basis for investigating the role of related genes in blood cell development in vertebrate systems, namely humans.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2050-084X
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.001
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.002
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.003
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.004
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.005
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.006
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.007
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.008
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.009
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.010
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.011
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.012
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.013
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.014
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.015
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.016
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.017
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.018
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.019
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.020
DOI:
10.7554/eLife.03626.021
Language:
English
Publisher:
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Publication Date:
2014
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2687154-3
Bookmarklink