Tissues are formed and maintained by stem cells that produce both daughters that undergo self-renewing proliferation and daughters that differentiate. The mechanisms by which the choice between the self-renewal/ proliferative fate and the differentiated fate are made are not well understood in any system. However, disruption of the decision can cause stem cell loss, resulting tissue depletion, and lead to cancer. Our long-term goal is to understand how the proliferation vs. differentiation decision is made in the C. elegans germline. The C. elegans germline is the major model system for tissues where there are a larger number of stem cells that divide and differentiate through symmetric divisions, in contrast to the more widely studied systems with a small number of stem cells and differentiation through asymmetric division. The GLP-1 Notch signaling pathway induces the germ cell proliferative fate and represses three redundant pathways that promote the meiotic cell fate: the GLD-1 pathway, which acts in translational repression;the GLD-2 pathway, which acts in translational activation;and a third pathway whose existence has been revealed through genetic analysis but no gene products have been identified to date. Notch signaling in mammals is also important in stem cell self-renewal and oncogenic Notch activation can lead to cancer. Project goals address major unanswered questions in the field and include: (1) Determining whether the proliferative zone population is composed of only stem cells or both stem cells and proximal transit amplifying cells. (2) Identifying transcriptional targets of GLP-1 signaling for the proliferative fate and determining regulatory relationships with the three meiotic entry pathways. (3) Identifying the GLD-1 targets that are translationally repressed to promote meiotic entry.

Public Health Relevance

The proposed research investigates the stem cell versus differentiation decision, which is an essential part of animal development and adult tissue homeostasis. Disruption of the decision can cause stem cell loss, resulting in tissue disfunction, and can lead to cancer.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01GM100756-01
Application #
8258381
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-CB-R (02))
Program Officer
Haynes, Susan R
Project Start
2012-02-01
Project End
2015-11-30
Budget Start
2012-02-01
Budget End
2012-11-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$288,800
Indirect Cost
$98,800
Name
Washington University
Department
Genetics
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
068552207
City
Saint Louis
State
MO
Country
United States
Zip Code
63130
Mohammad, Ariz; Vanden Broek, Kara; Wang, Christopher et al. (2018) Initiation of Meiotic Development Is Controlled by Three Post-transcriptional Pathways in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics 209:1197-1224
Kocsisova, Zuzana; Kornfeld, Kerry; Schedl, Tim (2018) Cell cycle accumulation of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen PCN-1 transitions from continuous in the adult germline to intermittent in the early embryo of C. elegans. BMC Dev Biol 18:12
Brenner, John L; Schedl, Tim (2016) Indirect Immunofluorescence of Proteins in Oogenic Germ Cells of Caenorhabditis elegans. Methods Mol Biol 1457:9-17
Brenner, John L; Schedl, Tim (2016) Germline Stem Cell Differentiation Entails Regional Control of Cell Fate Regulator GLD-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics 202:1085-103
Rastogi, Suchita; Borgo, Ben; Pazdernik, Nanette et al. (2015) Caenorhabditis elegans glp-4 Encodes a Valyl Aminoacyl tRNA Synthetase. G3 (Bethesda) 5:2719-28
Zhang, Liang; Han, Longsen; Ma, Rujun et al. (2015) Sirt3 prevents maternal obesity-associated oxidative stress and meiotic defects in mouse oocytes. Cell Cycle 14:2959-68
Fox, Paul M; Schedl, Tim (2015) Analysis of Germline Stem Cell Differentiation Following Loss of GLP-1 Notch Activity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics 201:167-84
Hou, Xiaojing; Zhang, Liang; Han, Longsen et al. (2015) Differing roles of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases during mouse oocyte maturation. J Cell Sci 128:2319-29
Zhang, Liang; Hou, Xiaojing; Ma, Rujun et al. (2014) Sirt2 functions in spindle organization and chromosome alignment in mouse oocyte meiosis. FASEB J 28:1435-45
Ma, Rujun; Hou, Xiaojing; Zhang, Liang et al. (2014) Rab5a is required for spindle length control and kinetochore-microtubule attachment during meiosis in oocytes. FASEB J 28:4026-35

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