Correct positioning of stem cells within their niche is essential for tissue morphogenesis and homeostasis. How stem cells acquire and maintain niche position remains largely unknown. Here, we show that a subset of brain neuroblasts (NBs) in Drosophila utilize Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) and DE-cadherin to build adhesive contact for NB niche positioning. NBs remain within their native microenvironment when levels of PI3-kinase activity and DEcadherin are elevated in NBs. This occurs through PI3-kinasedependent regulation of DE-Cadherin-mediated cell adhesion between NBs and neighboring cortex glia, and between NBs and their ganglion mother cell daughters. When levels of PI3-kinase activity and/or DE-Cadherin are reduced in NBs, NBs lose niche position and relocate to a non-native brain region that is rich in neurosecretory neurons, including those that secrete some of the Drosophila insulin-like peptides. Linking levels of PI3-kinase activity to the strength of adhesive attachment could provide cancer stem cells and hematopoietic stem cells with a means to cycle from trophicpoor to trophic-rich microenvironments.
CITATION STYLE
Doyle, S. E., Pahl, M. C., Siller, K. H., Ardiff, L., & Siegrist, S. E. (2017). Neuroblast niche position is controlled by phosphoinositide 3-kinase-dependent DE-cadherin adhesion. Development (Cambridge), 144(5), 820–829. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.136713
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