The intestinal epithelium exhibits a rapid and efficient regenerative response to injury. Emerging evidence supports a model where plasticity of differentiated cells, particularly those in the secretory lineages, contributes to epithelial regeneration upon ablation of injury-sensitive stem cells. However, such facultative stem cell activity is rare within secretory populations. Here, we ask whether specific functional properties predict facultative stem cell activity. We utilize in vivo labeling combined with ex vivo organoid formation assays to evaluate how cell age and autophagic state contribute to facultative stem cell activity within secretory lineages. Strikingly, we find that cell age (time elapsed since cell cycle exit) does not correlate with secretory cell plasticity. Instead, high autophagic vesicle content predicts plasticity and resistance to DNA damaging injury independently of cell lineage. Our findings indicate that autophagic status prior to injury serves as a lineage-agnostic marker for the prospective identification of facultative stem cells.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9638868PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.15252/embr.202255209DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

facultative stem
20
stem cells
12
stem cell
12
cell activity
12
autophagic state
8
intestinal epithelium
8
secretory lineages
8
cell
8
cell age
8
stem
6

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!