Aging is frequently associated with a decline in the size of stem cell pools, but little is known regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying this process. In this study, we report that Notch signaling is increased in GSCs as they age, and this promotes their removal from the niche in an E-cadherin dependent manner. In contrast to GSCs, niche cells exhibit decreased Notch signaling with age; Notch signaling in these cells controls niche integrity, and consequently GSC retention. While Notch signaling in the niche is regulated by insulin signaling, Notch signaling in GSCs is controlled by Sex lethal, an RNA-binding protein. These results imply that Notch signaling is regulated in a cell-type-dependent manner, and coordination between GSCs and their niche facilitates the removal of cells from the niche during the aging process.

This research was carried out by a research team under the direction of Professor Hwei-Jan Hsu in ICOB and led by the researcher Chen-Yuan Tseng, the first author of this paper.

Notch signaling mediates the age-associated decrease in adhesion of germline stem cells to the niche. Tseng CY, Kao SH, Wan CL, Cho Y, Tung SY, Hsu HJ. PLOS Genetics, Dec 18;10(12):e1004888. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004888. eCollection 2014.

The weblink for the paper is: http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pgen.1004888