Regulation of cell proliferation and patterning in Drosophila oogenesis by Hedgehog signaling

The localized expression of Hedgehog (Hh) at the extreme anterior of Drosophila ovarioles suggests that it might provide an asymmetric cue that patterns developing egg chambers along the anteroposterior axis. Ectopic or excessive Hh signaling disrupts egg chamber patterning dramatically through primary effects at two developmental stages. First, excess Hh signaling in somatic stem cells stimulates somatic cell over-proliferation. This likely disrupts the earliest interactions between somatic and germline cells and may account for the frequent mis-positioning of oocytes within egg chambers. Second, the initiation of the developmental programs of follicle cell lineages appears to be delayed by ectopic Hh signaling. This may account for the formation of ectopic polar cells, the extended proliferation of follicle cells and the defective differentiation of posterior follicle cells, which, in turn, disrupts polarity within the oocyte. Somatic cells in the ovary cannot proliferate normally in the absence of Hh or Smoothened activity. Loss of protein kinase A activity restores the proliferation of somatic cells in the absence of Hh activity and allows the formation of normally patterned ovarioles. Hence, localized Hh is not essential to direct egg chamber patterning.