In contrast, forced expression of upd within niche cells delayed the loss
of germline stem cells in older males.
While
male germline stem cells differentiate (or become specialized) throughout a man's life to produce a steady supply of new sperm, a woman's are believed to differentiate into a stockpile of eggs during a relatively narrow time frame before she's even born.
In the current issue of the journal Nature, scientists at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research report that competition between two proteins, Bam and COP9, balances the self - renewal and differentiation functions of
ovarian germline stem cells (GSCs) in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster).
The study also found that in addition to its role in determining the sex of somatic cells, Sxl regulation by m6A is required to initiate
germline stem cell differentiation for developing eggs.
Developmental biologist Ji Wu and her colleagues at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China
took germline stem cells from the ovaries of a 6 - day - old mouse, cultured them in a petri dish, and then transplanted those cells into the ovaries of sterilized adult mice.
EGG - CITING
DEVELOPMENT Germline stem cells (orange circles, left) implanted into a mouse's ovary move to the edge of the ovary (middle) and begin developing into eggs.
«In our studies, we wanted to find out the nature, if any, of the relationship
between germline stem cells and the gene Abd - B,» states Prof. Lohmann, who further explains that Abd - B belongs to a family of developmental genes referred to as Hox genes.
Using the Drosophila melanogaster fruit fly as a model organism, the team led by Prof. Dr. Ingrid Lohmann at Heidelberg University's Centre for Organismal Studies was able to show how a special developmental gene from the Hox family
influences germline stem cells.
The accumulation of only adult stem cell - like cells indicates a mutation in the master differentiation factor bam completely
blocks germline stem cell lineage differentiation.
Karim Nayernia of the University of Newcastle, UK, and his colleagues treated male embryonic stem cells (ESCs) with a range of substances, which converted them first
into germline stem cells and then into spermatogonial stem cells.
The researchers then attempted to see if the cells, which they labeled multipotent
adult germline stem cells (maGSC), would differentiate into specific types of body cells.
Sophia Millonigg (Eckmann, MPG)-- «The translational activator complex GLD - 4 / GLS - 1 regulates
germline stem cell self - renewal and differentiation in the adult C. elegans germ line» (2013)
An immunofluorescence image of the tip of the Drosophila testis, showing
male germline stem cells and their daughters (green) responding to self renewal signals from the stem cell niche.
The Xie Lab demonstrated that differentiation - defective Drosophila
ovarian germline stem cells (GSCs), behaving like human cancer stem cells, can out - compete normal stem cells for a position in the niche.
Germline stem cells from infant mice can restore fertility in sterilised adult mice Finding ways to restore fertility could help many individuals which have become sterile as a result of cancer treatments, in addition to those suffering from an earlier menopause.
These egg - generating cells are
germline stem cells — precursors that become either eggs or sperm depending on whether they end up in ovaries or testes.
Isolating
those germline stem cells and coaxing them to become eggs has proven tricky, though.
The results show that
germline stem cells can indeed restore fertility when transplanted into other mice, Wu says.
Some recent studies have begun to question that conventional wisdom, though the idea that
germline stem cells could still exist in women after birth is controversial (SN Online: 7/9/12).
The germline stem cells there produce daughter cells that develop into mature sperms.
This damages their function, which in turn causes
the germline stem cells to divide incorrectly.
In the absence of Wnt6 signaling, anterior escort cells die and
germline stem cells are lost.
They report in the February issue of Development that support cells called anterior escort cells, located next to
the germline stem cells, are a required component of the niche.
PLZF is expressed in
germline stem cells and is required for their self - renewal.