Day-night cycles and the sleep-promoting factor, Sleepless, affect stem cell activity in the Drosophila testis

作者：Tulina Natalia M^*; Chen Wen Feng; Chen Jung Hsuan; Sowcik Mallory; Sehgal Amita

来源：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2014, 111(8): 3026-3031.

DOI：10.1073/pnas.1316552111

• environmental cycles
• sleep duration
• tissue homeostasis
• stem cell regulation

Adult stem cells maintain tissue integrity and function by renewing cellular content of the organism through regulated mitotic divisions. Previous studies showed that stem cell activity is affected by local, systemic, and environmental cues. Here, we explore a role of environmental day-night cycles in modulating cell cycle progression in populations of adult stem cells. Using a classic stem cell system, the Drosophila spermatogonial stem cell niche, we reveal daily rhythms in division frequencies of germ-line and somatic stem cells that act cooperatively to produce male gametes. We also examine whether behavioral sleep-wake cycles, which are driven by the environmental day-night cycles, regulate stem cell function. We find that flies lacking the sleep-promoting factor Sleepless, which maintains normal sleep in Drosophila, have increased germ-line stem cell (GSC) division rates, and this effect is mediated, in part, through a GABAergic signaling pathway. We suggest that alterations in sleep can influence the daily dynamics of GSC divisions.

• 出版日期2014-2-25