Expression of lamina proteins lamin and kugelkern suppresses stem cell proliferation

Abstract

The nuclear lamina is involved in numerous cellular functions, such as gene expression, nuclear organization, nuclear stability, and cell proliferation. The mechanism underlying the involvement of lamina is often not clear, especially in physiological or developmental contexts. Here we investigate the role and activity of farnesylated lamina proteins Lamin (Lam) and Kugelkern (Kuk) in proliferation control of intestinal stem cells (ISCs) in adult Drosophila flies. We found that ISCs mutant for Lam or kuk proliferate, whereas overexpression of Lam or Kuk strongly suppressed proliferation. The anti-proliferative activity is, at least in part, due to suppression of Jak/Stat but not Delta/Notch signaling. Lam expression suppresses Jak/Stat signaling by normalization of about 50% of the Stat target genes in ISCs.