Mechanism Discovered In Adult Stem Cell Regulation
August 6, 2007
Science Daily — Forsyth Institute scientists have discovered an
important mechanism for controlling the behavior of adult stem cells.
Research with the flatworm, planaria, found a novel role for the
proteins involved in cell-to-cell communication.
This work has the potential to help scientists understand the nature
of the messages that control stem cell regulation ¯ such as the
message that maintain and tells a stem cell to specialize and to
become part of an organ e.g.: liver or skin.
In recent years, planarians have been recognized as a great model
system to molecularly dissect conserved stem cell regulatory
mechanisms in vivo. Planarians have powerful regeneration capability
that makes them ideal for studying this process. The Forsyth team
uses planarians and other animal models to study development and
regeneration.
The Forsyth team will publish this research in the August 16 issue of
Development. According to the paper's lead author, Néstor J. Oviedo,
a postdoctoral fellow in the Forsyth Center for Regenerative and
Developmental Biology, this work, highlighting the importance of
direct cell-cell transfer of small molecules between stem cells and
their neighbors, provides an important roadmap for learning about
regeneration.
He said, "These findings suggest that similar mechanisms may be
extraordinarily relevant for controlling the behavior of migratory,
plastic cells. Further analysis in both planarians and in vertebrates
will provide crucial opportunities for understanding what drives stem
cell behavior and may help medical science identify novel therapeutic
targets."
The Forsyth team previously found that communication through gap-
junctions (microscopic tunnels directly linking neighboring cells)
controls the left-right asymmetric positioning of the internal organs
during embryonic development. In this study, they turned to the role
of gap junctional signals as regulators of adult stem cells in repair
of injury.
Drs. Oviedo and Levin focused on direct cell-cell transfer of small
molecules and ions as crucial signals that determine behavior of
adult stem cells in vivo. They showed that when one of many specific
gap junction channel types was abolished, the adult stem cell pool
disappeared along with the regenerative capabilities, suggesting that
gap junction-permeable signals are necessary to maintain stem cell
state and tissue regeneration. This research demonstrates a novel
role for gap-junction proteins and suggest gap junction-mediated
signaling as a new and tractable control point for adult, somatic
cell regulation
Most recent work in the stem cell field has focused on the secreted
protein factors that control embryonic stem cell differentiation.
However, no specific gap junction protein had been functionally
linked to adult/somatic stem cell behavior in vivo or to organ
regeneration. This work demonstrates that gap junction channels
providing direct cell-to-cell communication are a critical component
for development and normal physiology.
The research team is led by Michael Levin, Ph.D., Associate Member of
the Staff in The Forsyth Institute and the Director of the Forsyth
Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology. Through
experimental approaches and mathematical modeling, Dr. Levin and his
group examine the processes governing large-scale pattern formation
and biological information storage during animal embryogenesis. The
lab investigates mechanisms of signaling between cells and tissues
that allow a living system to reliably generate and maintain a
complex morphology. The Levin team studies these processes in the
context of embryonic development and regeneration, with a particular
focus on the biophysics of cell behavior.
This study was funding in part by grants from The National Science
Foundation and National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by
Forsyth Institute.
http://www.scienced
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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