Nipped-A regulates intestinal stem cell proliferation in Drosophila

Adult stem cells uphold a delicate balance between quiescent and active states, a deregulation of which can lead to age-associated diseases such as cancer. In Drosophila, intestinal stem cell (ISC) proliferation is tightly regulated and mis-regulation is detrimental to intestinal homeostasis. Various factors are known to govern ISC behavior; however, transcriptional changes in ISCs during aging are still unclear. RNA sequencing of young and old ISCs newly identified Nipped-A, a subunit of histone acetyltransferase complexes, as a regulator of ISC proliferation that is upregulated in old ISCs. We show that Nipped-A is required for maintaining the proliferative capacity of ISCs during aging and in response to tissue-damaging or tumorigenic stimuli. Interestingly, Drosophila Myc cannot compensate for the effect of the loss of Nipped-A on ISC proliferation. Nipped-A seems to be a superordinate regulator of ISC proliferation, possibly by coordinating different processes including modifying the chromatin landscape of ISCs and progenitors.