Radiation sensitivity and the DNA damage response in  planarian stem cells

Abstract:: Ionizing radiation (IR) can inflict various types of DNA lesions which if not repaired, can induce genomic instability and subsequent oncogenic transformation. Potentially immortal and highly regenerative animals are hypothesized to have enhanced genome maintenance mechanisms to protect their stem cells. One such example, the freshwater planarian, Schmidtea mediterranea, contains a large population of collectively pluripotent adult stem cells called neoblasts that are completely ablated fo...
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Files:: Sahu_2018_Radiation_sensitivity_and.pdf

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Language:: English
Keywords:: Genome instability

Adult stem cells

Planaria

DNA damage response
Subjects:: DNA repair

Radiation biology

Genome instability
UUID:: uuid:d78f971a-ba4c-44ca-ba98-649fcea7fec4
Deposit date:: 2019-02-06
ARK identifier:: ark:/29072/ora_d78f971aba4c44caba98649fcea7fec4

Related item:: Secrets from immortal worms: What can we learn about biological ageing from the planarian model system?
Description:: Understanding how some animals are immortal and avoid the ageing process is important. We currently know very little about how they achieve this. Research with genetic model systems has revealed the existence of conserved genetic pathways and molecular processes that affect longevity. Most of these established model organisms have relatively short lifespans. Here we consider the use of planarians, with an immortal life-history that is able to entirely avoid the ageing process. These animals are capable of profound feats of regeneration fueled by a population of adult stem cells called neoblasts. These cells are capable of indefinite self-renewal that has underpinned the evolution of animals that reproduce only by fission, having disposed of the germline, and must therefore be somatically immortal and avoid the ageing process. How they do this is only now starting to be understood. Here we suggest that the evidence so far supports the hypothesis that the lack of ageing is an emergent property of both being highly regenerative and the evolution of highly effective mechanisms for ensuring genome stability in the neoblast stem cell population. The details of these mechanisms could prove to be very informative in understanding how the causes of ageing can be avoided, slowed or even reversed.

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