Accumulation of a differentiation regulator specifies transit amplifying division number in an adult stem cell lineage.

ABSTRACT: A key feature of many adult stem cell lineages is that stem cell daughters destined for differentiation undergo several transit amplifying (TA) divisions before initiating terminal differentiation, allowing few and infrequently dividing stem cells to produce many differentiated progeny. Although the number of progenitor divisions profoundly affects tissue (re)generation, and failure to control these divisions may contribute to cancer, the mechanisms that limit TA proliferation are not well understood. Here, we use a model stem cell lineage, the Drosophila male germ line, to investigate the mechanism that counts the number of TA divisions. The Drosophila Bag of Marbles (Bam) protein is required for male germ cells to cease spermatogonial TA divisions and initiate spermatocyte differentiatio

SUBMITTER: Insco ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2799733 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature