A latest article in Cell, reports the Fused/Smurf complex in the shaping of the BMP gradient in the control of female GSC fate regulation in Drosophila. This work is done by Dr. Chen DH group at Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. Congrats to all the authors! – GeneDog
Cell, Volume 143, Issue 6, 978-990, 10 December 2010
Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
10.1016/j.cell.2010.11.022
Authors
Laixin Xia, Shunji Jia, Shoujun Huang, Hailong Wang, Yuanxiang Zhu, Yanjun Mu, Lijuan Kan, Wenjing Zheng, Di Wu, Xiaoming Li, Qinmiao Sun, Anming Meng, Dahua Chensend emailSee Affiliations
Highlights
- CB differentiation involves antagonism of BMP signaling through regulation of Tkv
- Fu regulates CB differentiation by antagonizing BMP signal via interaction with Tkv
- Fu acts in concert with Smurf to terminate BMP signal by ubiquitinating Tkv in CBs
- Fu has a conserved role in antagonizing BMP/TGFβ signals from fly to vertebrate
Summary
In the Drosophila ovary, germline stem cells (GSCs) are maintained primarily by bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) ligands produced by the stromal cells of the niche. This signaling represses GSC differentiation by blocking the transcription of the differentiation factor Bam. Remarkably, bam transcription begins only one cell diameter away from the GSC in the daughter cystoblasts (CBs). How this steep gradient of response to BMP signaling is formed has been unclear. Here, we show that Fused (Fu), a serine/threonine kinase that regulates Hedgehog, functions in concert with the E3 ligase Smurf to regulate ubiquitination and proteolysis of the BMP receptor Thickveins in CBs. This regulation generates a steep gradient of BMP activity between GSCs and CBs, allowing for bam expression on CBs and concomitant differentiation. We observed similar roles for Fu during embryonic development in zebrafish and in human cell culture, implying broad conservation of this mechanism.
Incoming search terms:
- BMP Smurf
- cell 10 december 2010 fu
- cell 2010 12 10 china chen dahua
- Chen Dahua Smurf
- fu smurf dh chen
- ovarian drosophila stem cells
- smurf chen dahua
- smurf tkv
what ’s the major research interests of Chen DH’ group？