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   Hannele Ruohola-Baker

Professor

Department of Biochemistry

Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine

University of Washington

1705 NE Pacific St.
HSB J-591, Box 357350
Seattle, WA 98195

USA

Email: hannele@u.washington.edu
Phone: (206) 543-8468
Fax: (206) 685-1792

 

 

1) miRNA function in Stem Cells :

                A) miRNA function in Human ESCs

                B) miRNA function in Drosophila GSCs

2) Drosophila as a model for human diseases :

                A) Dg-Dys - Muscular Dystrophy model

                B) Notch - cell cycle control

                C) Integrations of signaling pathways

                D) Nuage and Polar granule function

                E) FKBP

One of the key characteristics of stem cells is their capacity to divide for long periods of time in an environment where most of the cells are quiescent. Therefore, a critical question in stem cell biology is how stem cells escape cell division stop signals. Here, we report the necessity of the microRNA (miRNA) pathway for proper control of germline stem cell (GSC) division in Drosophila melanogaster. Analysis of GSCs mutant for dicer-1 (dcr-1), the double-stranded RNaseIII essential for miRNA biogenesis, revealed a marked reduction in the rate of germline cyst production. These dcr-1 mutant GSCs exhibit normal identity but are defective in cell cycle control. On the basis of cell cycle markers and genetic interactions, we conclude that dcr-1 mutant GSCs are delayed in the G1 to S transition, which is dependent on the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor Dacapo, suggesting that miRNAs are required for stem cells to bypass the normal G1/S checkpoint. Hence, the miRNA pathway might be part of a mechanism that makes stem cells insensitive to environmental signals that normally stop the cell cycle at the G1/S transition.

The complete story can be found in Nature web site :  

Stem cell division is regulated by the microRNA pathway

S. D. Hatfield, H. R. Shcherbata, K. A. Fischer, K. Nakahara, R. W. Carthew and H. Ruohola-Baker



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top(left): Steve, Larissa, Karin
Middle: Hannele, Richard (SH Lab), Seth, Emily, Wu-Min
Front: Volodya, Halyna, Betsy, Aliya, Kathie


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