The ARTS of Cell Death.

Although much is known regarding intestinal stem cell (ISC) self-renewal and differentiation, the specific mechanisms used for their elimination is unclear. We recently discovered that the pro-apoptotic protein ARTS, a Septin4 isoform, interacts with X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) in the ISC niche to regulate stem cell survival during intestinal homeostasis and regeneration. These findings point to an intriguing avenue of translational research, examining how manipulation of stem cell apoptosis through the ARTS/XIAP module can affect stem-cell-dependent processes.