Metabolic control of progenitor cell propagation during Drosophila tracheal remodeling
Yue Li, Pengzhen Dong, Yang Yang, Tianyu Guo, Quanyi Zhao, Dan Miao, Huanle Li, Tianfeng Lu, Fanning Xia, Jialan Lyu, Jun Ma, Thomas B. Kornberg, Qiang Zhang, Hai Huang
Abstract
Adult progenitor cells in the trachea of Drosophila larvae are activated and migrate out of niches when metamorphosis induces tracheal remodeling. Here we show that in response to metabolic deficiency in decaying tracheal branches, signaling by the insulin pathway controls the progenitor cells by regulating Yorkie (Yki)-dependent proliferation and migration. Yki, a transcription coactivator that is regulated by Hippo signaling, promotes transcriptional activation of cell cycle regulators and components of the extracellular matrix in tracheal progenitor cells. These findings reveal that regulation of Yki signaling by the insulin pathway governs proliferation and migration of tracheal progenitor cells, thereby identifying the regulatory mechanism by which metabolic depression drives progenitor cell activation and cell division that underlies tracheal remodeling.