Ameku, T., Yoshinari, Y., Texada, M.J., Kondo, S., Amezawa, K., Yoshizaki, G., Shimada-Niwa, Y., Niwa, R. (2018). Midgut-derived neuropeptide F controls germline stem cell proliferation in a mating-dependent manner. PLoS Biol. 16(9): e2005004.
FlyBase ID
FBrf0240155
Publication Type
Research paper
Abstract
Stem cell maintenance is established by neighboring niche cells that promote stem cell self-renewal. However, it is poorly understood how stem cell activity is regulated by systemic, tissue-extrinsic signals in response to environmental cues and changes in physiological status. Here, we show that neuropeptide F (NPF) signaling plays an important role in the pathway regulating mating-induced germline stem cell (GSC) proliferation in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. NPF expressed in enteroendocrine cells (EECs) of the midgut is released in response to the seminal-fluid protein sex peptide (SP) upon mating. This midgut-derived NPF controls mating-induced GSC proliferation via ovarian NPF receptor (NPFR) activity, which modulates bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling levels in GSCs. Our study provides a molecular mechanism that describes how a gut-derived systemic factor couples stem cell behavior to physiological status, such as mating, through interorgan communication.
