The spectrosome is located on the apical side of the GSC, next to the adherens junction between the cap cell and GSC

The spectrosome is located on the apical side of the GSC, next to the adherens junction between the cap cell and GSC. delicate balance, stem cells are carefully regulated according to the rate of consumption of differentiated cells. Stem cells reside in specialized anatomical locations, or niches, that support many aspects of stem cell identity, including an undifferentiated Rabbit Polyclonal to Trk B (phospho-Tyr515) state, proliferation capacity, quiescence, and multipotency [1,2]. In some systems, partially differentiated cells regain stem cell identity when placed back in the niche [3C6], suggesting that signaling within the niche dominantly controls stem cell identity. Interactions between stem cells and their environment through cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion are crucial for regulating stem cells. Not only does adhesion help retain stem cells in the niche, where they receive essential signals, but it also provides polarity cues that help stem cells decide whether to divide symmetrically or asymmetrically [7]. Moreover, because signals from the niche are essential for stem cell identity, cell fate decisions are often associated with the polarization of stem cells, which retains the cells within or displaces them away from the niche. Indeed, orientation of the mitotic spindle regulates the fate of daughter cells in many types of stem cells [8]. Here, I review recent progress towards understanding how cell polarization orients the spindle in response to cell adhesion cues. Cell adhesion in the organization AKT inhibitor VIII (AKTI-1/2) of the stem cell niche Both cadherins and integrins are required for stem cell-niche interactions in many systems. Among the most extensively studied stem cell niche systems are those in the Drosophila male and female gonads [9], in which E-cadherin is required for the attachment of germline stem cells (GSCs) to niche component cells. In the male gonad, GSCs are attached to hub cells, the major niche component, via E-cadherin-mediated cell adhesion [10,11] (Fig. AKT inhibitor VIII (AKTI-1/2) 1A). N-cadherin is expressed in a similar pattern [12], but its functional significance has not yet been tested. Somatic cyst stem cells (CySCs, also known as cyst progenitor cells) also participate in the formation of the GSC niche and depend on E-cadherin to attach to hub cells. Open in a separate window Figure 1 The anatomy of Drosophila male and female germline stem cell niches and the role of adhesion moleculesA) In the testis, the major stem cell niche component, hub cells, attach to AKT inhibitor VIII (AKTI-1/2) the apical tip of the testis via integrin, while hub-GSC and hub-cyst stem cell (CySC) attachment are supported via adherens junctions. CySCs encapsulate GSCs and create a niche for them together with hub cells. After stem cell division, GSCs produce a differentiating daughter, or gonialblast (GB), while CySC produce cyst cells (CCs), which encapsulate and promote differentiation of germ cells (GB and spermatogonia). B) In the ovary, GSCs are attached to cap cells (in proximity to terminal filament (TF) cells) via adherens junctions. GSCs are encapsulated by escort stem cells (ESCs), which produce escort cells (ECs) that accompany differentiating germ cells (cystoblast (CB) and cystocytes). Follicle stem cells (FSCs), which produce the follicle cells (FCs) that create the egg chamber, are maintained by both cadherin and integrin function. Hub cells are also attached to the apical tip of the testis via integrin-mediated adhesion. The loss of PS integrin results in a failure to position hub cells at the apical tip, leading to the loss of hub cells and subsequently of GSCs [13]. Since interaction among GSCs, CySCs and hub cells remains intact in the integrin mutants, the loss of hub cells detached from the apical tip may indicate that hub cells need extracellular signals, possibly from the apical tip ECM, for their maintenance [13]. While cell adhesion is required to maintain stem cells in the niche, the strength of adhesion must be tightly regulated to coordinate the production and regulation of multiple cell types needed to form a functional tissue. For example, CySCs can outcompete GSCs for niche occupancy when their integrin-dependent adhesion to the niche is inappropriately upregulated [14]. Similar to male GSCs, female GSCs are attached to cap cells in the niche via E-cadherin-mediated cell adhesion [15] (Fig. 1B). In the absence of E-cadherin, GSCs are quickly lost from the niche. Follicle stem cells (FSCs), which produce the follicle cells that form the AKT inhibitor VIII (AKTI-1/2) egg chamber, also require E-cadherin [16,17] and PS1/PS integrin [18] to be maintained in the niche. E-cadherin and integrin appear to function independently or in parallel during this process, since single mutants fail to efficiently maintain FSCs. Interestingly, FSCs that lack integrin are positioned abnormally within the germarium [18,19]. Since AKT inhibitor VIII (AKTI-1/2) FSCs exhibit dynamic movements within the niche [19], E-cadherin and integrin may be required for.