Autoinhibitory feedback preserves intestinal stem cell maintenance and fate commitment - PubMed
3 hours ago
- #Intestinal Stem Cells
- #Autophagy Regulation
- #Cell Differentiation
- The study identifies a self-limiting transcriptional program mediated by the transcription factor Chronophage (Cph) in Drosophila midgut intestinal stem cells (ISCs).
- Cph promotes both ISC maintenance and differentiation into enteroendocrine (EE) cells, with its expression transiently induced by the proneural factor scute during specification.
- Cph binds to genes involved in proliferation and differentiation and directly represses its own expression, creating an autoinhibitory feedback loop.
- This feedback mechanism prevents ISCs from accumulating autophagosomes and undergoing cell death, thereby preserving ISC function and supporting normal lifespan.
- The findings reveal a key regulatory mechanism that balances stem cell maintenance and differentiation, with implications for regenerating tissues.