REDOX HOMEOSTASIS IN THE DROSOPHILA TESTIS STEM CELL SELF-RENEWAL AND MAINTENANCE
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) act as important signaling molecules required for fundamental biological processes such as stem cell maintenance. However, aberrant ROS levels lead to oxidative stress, which is highly associated with various human diseases such as cancer and aging. Here, I examined the effects of redox states on stem cell maintenance, and identified the downstream effectors of ROS that control stem cell behaviour, using the Drosophila testis germline stem cell (GSC) model. High ROS resulted in the activation of EGFR signaling, which functions to promote GSC differentiation, leading to a GSC loss. By contrast, low ROS caused an over-growth of GSC-like cells. To understand the mechanisms utilized by ROS to control GSC behavior, I have also established gene expression profiling of testes with different ROS levels and characterized downstream effectors, including Maf-S and Mkp3, which are transcriptionally regulated by redox signaling.
Drosophila, germline stem cell, reactive oxygen species, microarray, Keap1/Nrf2 signaling, EGFR signaling
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations