Drosophila larval brain neuroblasts normally divide asymmetrically to generate another self-renewing neuroblast and a more fate-restricted cell;failure of asymmetric division results in neuroblast overgrowth that can resemble some vertebrate brain tumours. Now, Hongyan Wang and colleagues identify Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) as a novel tumour suppressor that can limit neuroblast self-renewal (see p. 2287). The authors report that defects in, or the depletion of, PP2A cause larval neuroblast overgrowth, which occurs at the expense of normal neuronal differentiation. PP2A also regulates neuroblast polarity, with the defects caused by PP2A disruption resembling those of polo mutant embryos. Polo is a kinase that phosphorylates and thereby activates the cell fate determinant Numb, and the authors determine that PP2A regulates Numb activity by promoting Polo expression. Based on these and other findings, the authors propose that PP2A acts upstream of Polo and Numb to block excessive neuroblast self-renewal. Whether this function of PP2A is conserved in other stem cell systems awaits future investigation.
Keeping neuroblast self-renewal in check
Keeping neuroblast self-renewal in check. Development 1 July 2009; 136 (13): e1305. doi:
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