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Updated: Aug 10, 2025
05:38
Generation of Apical-Out Intestinal Organoids and Assessment of Organoid Proliferation Rate Using EdU-Labeling
Published on: March 28, 2025
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Apical-basal polarity precisely determines intestinal stem cell number by regulating Prospero threshold.
Song Wu1, Yang Yang2, Ruizhi Tang1
1Department of Medical Genetics, School of Basic Medicine, Institute for Brain Research, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.
Cell Reports
|February 11, 2023
Summary
This study reveals how apical-basal polarity and Prospero (Pros) levels precisely control Drosophila intestinal stem cell numbers. A polarity network ensures correct cell fate and division patterns, maintaining stem cell homeostasis.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Apical-basal polarity and cell-fate determinants are vital for stem cell control.
- The precise mechanisms linking polarity to stem cell number remain elusive.
- Drosophila pupal intestinal stem cells (pISCs) offer a model to study polarity loss outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the interplay between polarity and cell-fate determinants in controlling stem cell numbers.
- To investigate the regulatory network governing pISC divisions and differentiation.
- To understand how polarity loss impacts stem cell fate.
Main Methods:
- Lineage tracing in Drosophila.
- Ex vivo live imaging of pISCs.
- Analysis of polarity regulators and cell-fate markers.
Main Results:
- Identified an interlocked polarity network regulating stem cell number.
- Bazooka inhibits Prospero accumulation via Notch signaling in apical daughters, maintaining stem cell fate.
- Prospero thresholds dictate differentiation into enteroendocrine mother cells (EMCs) or symmetric divisions in basal daughters.
Conclusions:
- A polarity-dependent threshold of Prospero precisely controls stem cell number.
- This network ensures correct cell fate and division patterns, maintaining stem cell homeostasis.
- Findings provide insights into stem cell regulation and differentiation processes.
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