Display Settings:

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination
    Science. 2000 Oct 13;290(5490):328-30.

    A niche maintaining germ line stem cells in the Drosophila ovary.

    Source

    Department of Embryology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 115 West University Parkway, Baltimore, MD 21210, USA. tgx@stowers-institute.org

    Abstract

    Stromal cells are thought to generate specific regulatory microenviroments or "niches" that control stem cell behavior. Characterizing stem cell niches in vivo remains an important goal that has been difficult to achieve. The individual ovarioles of the Drosophila ovary each contain about two germ line stem cells that maintain oocyte production. Here we show that anterior ovariolar somatic cells comprising three cell types act as a germ line stem cell niche. Germ line stem cells lost by normal or induced differentiation are efficiently replaced, and the ability to repopulate the niche increases the functional lifetime of ovarioles in vivo. Our studies implicate one of the somatic cell types, the cap cells, as a key niche component.

    PMID:
    11030649
    [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

      Supplemental Content

      Save items

      loading

      Recent activity

      Your browsing activity is empty.

      Activity recording is turned off.

      Turn recording back on

      See more...
      Write to the Help Desk