Connecting cancer to the asymmetric division of stem cells.
Two studies, one in this issue of Cell and the other in Developmental Cell show that the cell-fate determinant Brain Tumor (Brat) suppresses self-renewal in one of the daughter cells that arise from the asymmetric division of a neural stem cell. This work suggests a mechanism by which loss of polarity in stem cells may lead to tumorigenesis.
Department of Stem Cell Biology, DFG Research Center for Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CMPB), University of Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany. awodarz@gwdg.de
Andreas
A
Wodarz
Cayetano
C
Gonzalez
D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D004330:Drosophila / Q000196:embryology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C412783:brat protein, Drosophila; C073099:pros protein, Drosophila