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The epigenetic factor Zrf1 regulates intestinal stem cell proliferation during midgut regeneration

Li, J. S. S.; Liu, Y.; Kim, A.-R.; Qadiri, M.; Xu, J.; Xia, B.; Binari, R.; Asara, J. M.; Hu, Y.; Perrimon, N.

2025-01-21 genetics
10.1101/2025.01.16.633419 bioRxiv
Show abstract

Stem cells are essential for tissue maintenance and regeneration, balancing self-renewal and differentiation to support homeostasis and repair. Through an RNAi screen in the Drosophila midgut, we identified the epigenetic factor Zrf1 as a critical regulator of intestinal stem cell (ISC) proliferation. Functional analyses reveal that Zrf1 integrates inputs from multiple signaling pathways and interacts with components of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). Zrf1 mutants exhibit elevated expression of transposable elements (TEs) and chromatin disruption, highlighting a broader role in genome stability. Single-nuclei RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) further demonstrated the influence of Zrf1 on chromatin organization and TE repression, particularly within stem cell progenitors. Our findings suggest that Zrf1 is potentially a key chromatin regulator necessary for maintaining stem cell proliferation and genome integrity, enhancing our understanding of the molecular controls underlying stem cell function and chromatin dynamics.

Published in PLOS Genetics (predicted rank #1) · training set

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