Otefin, a nuclear membrane protein, determines the fate of germline stem cells in Drosophila via interaction with Smad complexes.
Nuclear envelope proteins play important roles in chromatin organization, gene regulation, and signal transduction; however, the physiological role of these proteins remains elusive. We found that otefin (ote), which encodes a nuclear lamin-binding protein [corrected], is essential for germline stem cell (GSC) maintenance. We show that Ote, as an intrinsic factor, is both necessary and sufficient to regulate GSC fate. Furthermore, we demonstrate that ote is required for the Dpp/BMP signaling pathway to silence bam transcription. By structure-function analysis, we demonstrate that the nuclear membrane localization of Ote is essential for its role in GSC maintenance. Finally, we show that Ote physically interacts with Medea/Smad4 at the bam silencer element to regulate GSC fate. Thus, we demonstrate that specific nuclear membrane components mediate signal-dependent transcriptional effects to control stem cell behavior.
Jiang
Xiaoyong
X
State Key Laboratory of Biomembrane and Membrane Biotechnology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 25 Beisihuanxi Road, Haidian, Beijing, 100080, China.
Xia
Laixin
L
Chen
Dongsheng
D
Yang
Yingyue
Y
Huang
Haidong
H
Yang
Lele
L
Zhao
Qiudong
Q
Shen
Lijun
L
Wang
Jun
J
Chen
Dahua
D
D000818:Animals; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D020868:Gene Silencing; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation; D009685:Nuclear Envelope / Q000378:metabolism*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010053:Ovary / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D034622:RNA Interference; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D051901:Smad4 Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*
D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C112504:Med protein, Drosophila; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C063595:Ote protein, Drosophila; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D051901:Smad4 Protein; C091674:bam protein, Drosophila; C064196:dpp protein, Drosophila