Abstract
Asymmetric cell division is a developmental process utilized by several organisms. On the most basic level, an asymmetric division produces two daughter cells, each possessing a different identity or fate. Drosophila melanogaster progenitor cells, referred to as neuroblasts, undergo asymmetric division to produce a daughter neuroblast and another cell known as a ganglion mother cell (GMC). There are several features of asymmetric division in Drosophila that make it a very complex process, and these aspects will be discussed at length. The cell fate determinants that play a role in specifying daughter cell fate, as well as the mechanisms behind setting up cortical polarity within neuroblasts, have proved to be essential to ensuring that neurogenesis occurs properly. The role that mitotic spindle orientation plays in coordinating asymmetric division, as well as how cell cycle regulators influence asymmetric division machinery, will also be addressed. Most significantly, malfunctions during asymmetric cell division have shown to be causally linked with neoplastic growth and tumor formation. Therefore, it is imperative that the developmental repercussions as a result of asymmetric cell division gone awry be understood.
Highlights
Asymmetric cell division is a phenomenon that has long been studied, especially in the developing nervous system of invertebrates and vertebrates
Dividing Drosophila neuroblasts, which serve as precursor and progenitor cells of the nervous system, take the intrinsic route of asymmetric cell division
Results from this study suggest that when the spindle is oriented orthogonally to apical-basal polarity, the cell-fate determinants fail to localize symmetrically rather than asymmetrically, and both daughter cells form neuroblasts [78]
Summary
Asymmetric cell division is a phenomenon that has long been studied, especially in the developing nervous system of invertebrates and vertebrates. Hey is a basic-helix-loop-helix-Orange (bHLH-O) transcription factor that is expressed primarily in the population of neuroblasts possessing activated Notch signaling, and is thought to contribute to maintaining/expanding the neural progenitor cell population during development [19]. Cell-fate / segregating determinants Segregating determinants, referred to as cell-fate determinants, are proteins that play a crucial role in specifying daughter cell fate (Table 1, Figure 3) It is the asymmetric localization of these particular determinants (in addition to other factors) to the basal side of the dividing neural progenitor cell that is largely thought to produce two daughter cells, each with a different fate. The Hem/Kette/Nap protein has been shown to play a very important role in the asymmetric division of Drosophila neuroblasts; it does so by regulating the localization of Numb and another adaptor protein known as Inscuteable [38]. A protein previously established to play a role in Notch signaling, has recently
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