| Literature DB >> 24567412 |
Aaron M Kershner1, Heaji Shin, Tyler J Hansen, Judith Kimble.
Abstract
A stem cell's immediate microenvironment creates an essential "niche" to maintain stem cell self-renewal. Many niches and their intercellular signaling pathways are known, but for the most part, the key downstream targets of niche signaling remain elusive. Here, we report the discovery of two GLP-1/Notch target genes, lst-1 (lateral signaling target) and sygl-1 (synthetic Glp), that function redundantly to maintain germ-line stem cells (GSCs) in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Whereas lst-1 and sygl-1 single mutants appear normal, lst-1 sygl-1 double mutants are phenotypically indistinguishable from glp-1/Notch mutants. Multiple lines of evidence demonstrate that GLP-1/Notch signaling activates lst-1 and sygl-1 expression in GSCs within the niche. Therefore, these two genes fully account for the role of GLP-1/Notch signaling in GSC maintenance. Importantly, lst-1 and sygl-1 are not required for GLP-1/Notch signaling per se. We conclude that lst-1 and sygl-1 forge a critical link between Notch signaling and GSC maintenance.Entities:
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Year: 2014 PMID： 24567412 PMCID： PMC3956202 DOI： 10.1073/pnas.1401861111
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ISSN： 0027-8424 Impact factor: 11.205