spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif ARCHIVE ANNOUNCEMENT! spacer gif
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


spacer gif
     Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents    

First published online 2 January 2008
doi: 10.1242/dev.016121

Development 135, 533-540 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplementary Material
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
dev.016121v1
135/3/533    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Related articles in Development
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by López-Onieva, L.
Right arrow Articles by González-Reyes, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by López-Onieva, L.
Right arrow Articles by González-Reyes, A.

Jak/Stat signalling in niche support cells regulates dpp transcription to control germline stem cell maintenance in the Drosophila ovary

Lourdes López-Onieva, Ana Fernández-Miñán* and Acaimo González-Reyes{dagger}

Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Carretera de Utrera km 1, 41013 Sevilla, Spain.

{dagger} Author for correspondence (e-mail: agonrey{at}upo.es)

Accepted 13 November 2007

The existence of specialised regulatory microenvironments or niches that sustain stable stem cell populations is well documented in many tissues. However, the specific mechanisms by which niche support (or stromal) cells govern stem cell maintenance remain largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that removal of the Jak/Stat pathway in support cells of the Drosophila ovarian niche leads to germline stem cell loss by differentiation. Conversely, ectopic Jak/Stat activation in support cells induces stem cell tumours, implying the presence of a signal relay between the stromal compartment and the stem cell population. We further show that ectopic Jak/Stat signalling in support cells augments dpp mRNA levels and increases the range of Dpp signalling, a Bmp2 orthologue known to act as a niche extrinsic factor required for female germline stem cell survival and division. Our results provide strong evidence for a model in which Jak/Stat signalling in somatic support cells regulates dpp transcription to define niche size and to maintain the adjacent germline stem cells in an undifferentiated state.

Key words: Jak/Stat, Germline stem cells, Niche signalling, BMP, Drosophila oogenesis


Related articles in Development:

Jak/Stat signalling finds its niche

Development 2008 135: e305. [Full Text]  





© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2008