Planarian EGF repeat-containing genes megf6 and hemicentin are required to restrict the stem cell compartment.

ABSTRACT: The extracellular matrix (ECM) is important for maintaining the boundaries between tissues. This role is particularly critical in the stem cell niche, as pre-neoplastic or cancerous stem cells must pass these boundaries in order to invade into the surrounding tissue. Here, we examine the role of the ECM as a regulator of the stem cell compartment in the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea, a highly regenerative, long-lived organism with a large population of adult stem cells. We identify two EGF repeat-containing genes, megf6 and hemicentin, with identical knockdown phenotypes. We find that megf6 and hemicentin are needed to maintain the structure of the basal lamina, and in the absence of either gene, pluripotent stem cells migrate ectopically outside of their compartment and hyper-prolifera

SUBMITTER: Lindsay-Mosher N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7059952 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature