title: The regulated elimination of transit-amplifying cells preserves tissue homeostasis during protein starvation in Drosophila testis.
abstract: How tissues adapt to varying nutrient conditions is of fundamental importance for robust tissue homeostasis throughout the life of an organism, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we show that Drosophila testis responds to protein starvation by eliminating transit-amplifying spermatogonia (SG) while maintaining a reduced pool of actively proliferating germline stem cells (GSCs). During protein starvation, SG die in a manner that is mediated by the apoptosis of somatic cyst cells (CCs) that encapsulate SG and regulate their development. Strikingly, GSCs cannot be maintained during protein starvation when CC-mediated SG death is inhibited, leading to an irreversible collapse of tissue homeostasis. We propose that the regulated elimination of transit-amplifying cells is essential to preserve stem cell function and tissue homeostasis during protein starvation.
authors.affiliation: Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2219, USA.
authors.forename: Heiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2219, USA Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2216, USA Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2216, USA yukikomy@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Yukiko M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Yamashita
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D004330:Drosophila / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D013093:Spermatogonia / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013737:Testis / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins
keywords: Drosophila; Starvation; Stem cells; Transit-amplifying cells