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Updated: Jun 19, 2026
09:18
Identification of Intracellular Signaling Events Induced in Viable Cells by Interaction with Neighboring Cells Undergoing Apoptotic Cell Death
Published on: December 27, 2016
Oriented cell division as a response to cell death and cell competition.
Wei Li1, Abhijit Kale, Nicholas E Baker
1Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
Current Biology : CB
|October 27, 2009
Summary
Drosophila imaginal discs can repair damage. Planar cell polarity genes are crucial for orienting cell division in response to cell death, aiding tissue repair and maintaining organ morphology.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Drosophila imaginal discs form adult ectoderm and possess regenerative capabilities.
- Cell death is a critical event that can trigger tissue repair mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the local cellular responses to increased cell death in Drosophila imaginal discs.
- To identify the genetic factors involved in mediating these responses, particularly mitotic reorientation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized genetic methods to induce elevated cell death rates in Drosophila.
- Analyzed cell behavior and mitotic orientation at boundaries between wild-type and mutant cell populations.
- Investigated the role of specific planar cell polarity genes (dachsous, fat, atrophin) and the pineapple eye gene.
Main Results:
- Increased cell death, either through cell competition or mutation, induced mitotic reorientation of neighboring cells.
- This reorientation was dependent on planar cell polarity genes, including dachsous, fat, and atrophin.
- The pineapple eye gene mutation also triggered reoriented mitosis, highlighting its role in apoptosis-related responses.
Conclusions:
- Planar cell polarity genes are essential for orchestrating cellular responses to cell death.
- Oriented mitosis plays a key role in tissue repair by replacing lost cells and maintaining organ structure.
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