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Updated: Sep 1, 2025
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Directed Differentiation of Primitive and Definitive Hematopoietic Progenitors from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Published on: November 1, 2017
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m6A is required for resolving progenitor identity during planarian stem cell differentiation
Yael Dagan1, Yarden Yesharim1, Ashley R Bonneau2,3,4
1The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
The EMBO Journal
|August 16, 2022
Summary
The N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is crucial for planarian stem cell function, regulating cell fate and maturation. Disrupting the m6A pathway leads to tissue failure and death, highlighting its role in regeneration.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Regenerative Medicine
Background:
- Tissue homeostasis and regeneration depend on precise cell lineage production.
- Gene expression regulation involves multiple layers, including mRNA modifications.
- The role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) in stem cell biology is an emerging area of research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the function of m6A in planarian stem cells (neoblasts).
- To determine the impact of m6A pathway perturbation on planarian tissue maintenance and regeneration.
- To explore the relationship between m6A and chromatin modifications in stem cell regulation.
Main Methods:
- Mapping m6A-enriched regions across thousands of planarian genes.
- Perturbing the m6A pathway and observing effects on tissue integrity and survival.
- Utilizing single-cell RNA sequencing to analyze cellular changes after m6A pathway inhibition.
- Analyzing large-scale planarian gene expression datasets to compare m6A inhibition with chromatin modifier effects.
Main Results:
- m6A is essential for correct cell fate choice and maturation in planarian neoblasts.
- Perturbation of the m6A pathway caused progressive tissue deterioration and mortality.
- Inhibition of m6A led to an accumulation of undifferentiated cells in an aberrant transcriptional state.
- A strong link was uncovered between m6A regulation and the chromatin modifying complex NuRD.
Conclusions:
- m6A is a critical regulator of planarian stem cell homeostasis.
- m6A plays a vital role in gene regulation underlying tissue maintenance and regeneration.
- m6A and chromatin modifications are interconnected in governing stem cell function.
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