TableEdit

Minakhina, S and Steward, R (2010) Hematopoietic stem cells in Drosophila. Development 137:27-31

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.

PubMed PMC2796932 Online version:10.1242/dev.043943

Animals; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins/genetics; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins/physiology; Cell Differentiation/genetics; Cell Differentiation/physiology; Drosophila/cytology; Drosophila Proteins/genetics; Drosophila Proteins/physiology; Hematopoietic Stem Cells/cytology; Hematopoietic Stem Cells/metabolism; Hemocytes/cytology; Hemocytes/metabolism; Immunohistochemistry; Lymph Nodes/cytology; Lymph Nodes/metabolism; Pluripotent Stem Cells/cytology; Pluripotent Stem Cells/metabolism