title: Hematopoietic stem cells in Drosophila.
abstract: The Drosophila lymph gland, the source of adult hemocytes, is established by mid-embryogenesis. During larval stages, a pool of pluripotent hemocyte precursors differentiate into hemocytes that are released into circulation upon metamorphosis or in response to immune challenge. This process is controlled by the posterior signaling center (PSC), which is reminiscent of the vertebrate hematopoietic stem cell niche. Using lineage analysis, we identified bona fide hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the lymph glands of embryos and young larvae, which give rise to a hematopoietic lineage. These lymph glands also contain pluripotent precursor cells that undergo a limited number of mitotic divisions and differentiate. We further find that the conserved factor Zfrp8/PDCD2 is essential for the maintenance of the HSCs, but dispensable for their daughter cells, the pluripotent precursors. Zfrp8/PDCD2 is likely to have similar functions in hematopoietic stem cell maintenance in vertebrates.
authors.affiliation: Rutgers University, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Waksman Institute, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. svetlana@waksman.rutgers.edu
authors.forename: Svetlana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Minakhina
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Steward
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D004330:Drosophila / Q000166:cytology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C522153:Zfrp8 protein, Drosophila