Notch and EGFR regulate apoptosis in progenitor cells to ensure gut homeostasis in Drosophila

ABSTRACT: The regenerative activity of adult stem cells carries a risk of cancer, particularly in highly renewable tissues. Members of the family of Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins (IAPs) inhibit caspases and cell death, and are often deregulated in adult cancers; however, their roles in normal adult tissue homeostasis is unclear. Here, we show that regulation of the number of enterocyte-committed progenitor (enteroblast) cells in the adult Drosophila involves a caspase-mediated physiological apoptosis, which adaptively eliminates excess enteroblast cells produced by intestinal stem cells (ISCs) and, when blocked, can also lead to tumorigenesis. Importantly, we found that Diap1 is expressed by enteroblast cells and that loss and gain of Diap1 led to changes in enteroblast numbers. We also found that

SUBMITTER: Tobias Reiff 

PROVIDER: S-SCDT-EMBOJ-2018-101346 | biostudies-other |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other