Repulsive cues combined with physical barriers and cell-cell adhesion determine progenitor cell positioning during organogenesis.

The precise positioning of organ progenitor cells constitutes an essential, yet poorly understood step during organogenesis. Using primordial germ cells that participate in gonad formation, we present the developmental mechanisms maintaining a motile progenitor cell population at the site where the organ develops. Employing high-resolution live-cell microscopy, we find that repulsive cues coupled with physical barriers confine the cells to the correct bilateral positions. This analysis revealed that cell polarity changes on interaction with the physical barrier and that the establishment of compact clusters involves increased cell-cell interaction time. Using particle-based simulations, we demonstrate the role of reflecting barriers, from which cells turn away on contact, and the importance of proper cell-cell adhesion level for maintaining the tight cell clusters and their correct positioning at the target region. The combination of these developmental and cellular mechanisms prevents organ fusion, controls organ positioning and is thus critical for its proper function.

Exclusive multipotency and preferential asymmetric divisions in post-embryonic neural stem cells of the fish retina.

The potency of post-embryonic stem cells can only be addressed in the living organism, by labeling single cells after embryonic development and following their descendants. Recently, transplantation experiments involving permanently labeled cells revealed multipotent neural stem cells (NSCs) of embryonic origin in the medaka retina. To analyze whether NSC potency is affected by developmental progression, as reported for the mammalian brain, we developed an inducible toolkit for clonal labeling and non-invasive fate tracking. We used this toolkit to address post-embryonic stem cells in different tissues and to functionally differentiate transient progenitor cells from permanent, bona fide stem cells in the retina. Using temporally controlled clonal induction, we showed that post-embryonic retinal NSCs are exclusively multipotent and give rise to the complete spectrum of cell types in the neural retina. Intriguingly, and in contrast to any other vertebrate stem cell system described so far, long-term analysis of clones indicates a preferential mode of asymmetric cell division. Moreover, following the behavior of clones before and after external stimuli, such as injuries, shows that NSCs in the retina maintained the preference for asymmetric cell division during regenerative responses. We present a comprehensive analysis of individual post-embryonic NSCs in their physiological environment and establish the teleost retina as an ideal model for studying adult stem cell biology at single cell resolution.

The centriolar satellite protein SSX2IP promotes centrosome maturation.

Meiotic maturation in vertebrate oocytes is an excellent model system for microtubule reorganization during M-phase spindle assembly. Here, we surveyed changes in the pattern of microtubule-interacting proteins upon Xenopus laevis oocyte maturation by quantitative proteomics. We identified the synovial sarcoma X breakpoint protein (SSX2IP) as a novel spindle protein. Using X. laevis egg extracts, we show that SSX2IP accumulated at spindle poles in a Dynein-dependent manner and interacted with the γ-tubulin ring complex (γ-TuRC) and the centriolar satellite protein PCM-1. Immunodepletion of SSX2IP impeded γ-TuRC loading onto centrosomes. This led to reduced microtubule nucleation and spindle assembly failure. In rapidly dividing blastomeres of medaka (Oryzias latipes) and in somatic cells, SSX2IP knockdown caused fragmentation of pericentriolar material and chromosome segregation errors. We characterize SSX2IP as a novel centrosome maturation and maintenance factor that is expressed at the onset of vertebrate development. It preserves centrosome integrity and faithful mitosis during the rapid cleavage division of blastomeres and in somatic cells.

Fate restriction and multipotency in retinal stem cells.

Stem cells have the capacity to both self-renew and generate postmitotic cells. Long-term tracking of individual clones in their natural environment constitutes the ultimate way to validate postembryonic stem cells. We identify retinal stem cells (RSCs) using the spatiotemporal organization of the fish retina and follow the complete offspring of a single cell during the postnatal life. RSCs generate two tissues of the adult fish retina, the neural retina (NR) and the retinal-pigmented epithelium (RPE). Despite their common embryonic origin and tight coordination during continuous organ growth, we prove that NR and RPE are maintained by dedicated RSCs that contribute in a fate-restricted manner to either one or the other tissue. We show that in the NR, RSCs are multipotent and generate all neuron types and glia. The clonal origin of these different cell types from a multipotent NSC has far-reaching implications for cell type and tissue homeostasis.