April 23, 2024

Death in Darkness: A New Type of Cell Death Mechanism Discovered in Fly Guts

The process was so progressive and unlike the more explosive and sudden cell death seen in apoptosis, that they understood it might be something new. They theorized that the new type of cell death is related to turnover in the intestinal tracts since the Ance-positive cells were frequently near where brand-new cells are born in the gut. They tentatively named the procedure erebosis, based on the Greek erebos significance darkness, since the dying cells looked so dark under the microscope.
Second, the dying cells did not show any of the molecular markers for apoptosis or the other 2 types of recognized cell death. Cells in late-stage erebosis did reveal a basic marker for cell death related to degraded DNA.
Detailed examination of the cells in which erebosis was happening revealed that they were located near clusters of gut stem cells. The next step is to work out the in-depth molecular occasions that permit erebosis and cell turnover in the fly gut.
” I feel our outcomes have the prospective to be a critical finding. Personally, this work is the most cutting-edge research I have ever done in my life.” states Yoo, “We are acutely thinking about whether erbosis exists in the human gut as well as in fruit flies.”
Recommendation: “Erebosis, a new cell death system during homeostatic turnover of gut enterocytes” by Hanna M. Ciesielski, Hiroshi Nishida, Tomomi Takano, Aya Fukuhara, Tetsuhisa Otani, Yuko Ikegawa, Morihiro Okada, Takashi Nishimura, Mikio Furuse and Sa Kan Yoo, 25 April 2022, PLOS Biology.DOI: 10.1371/ journal.pbio.3001586.

During erebosis, fluorescent proteins such as GFP and RFP become lost, making cells “black”. In the beginning of erebosis, cells lose cytoplasmic GFP (left bottom cells). Erebotic cells lose nuclear GFP (a cell in the center) and nuclear RFP (a cell at the leading center). Credit: RIKEN
Researchers have discovered a previously unidentified type of cell death that takes place in the guts of the common fruit fly. The findings require a rethinking of the standard concept of cell death, and at the very same time, reverse the previously developed theory of tissue homeostasis in the gut.
Like the skin, cells that make up the intestinal tracts are constantly being and passing away changed by new cells. Apoptosis, typically understood as “scheduled cell death,” is one of 3 kinds of cell death that are presently acknowledged.
As is frequently the case, this discovery occurred by accident. The scientists were studying a fruit fly version of ANCE, an enzyme that assists lower blood pressure. They observed that Ance expression in the fly gut was patchy, and that the cells that included it had weird characteristics. “We found that Ance identifies some strange cells in the fruit fly gut,” states Yoo. “But it took a very long time for us to find out that these unusual cells were in fact passing away.” They found that the unusual cells were dark, doing not have nuclear membranes, mitochondria, and cytoskeletons, and often even DNA and other cellular items that are required for cells to stay alive.

In the start of erebosis, cells lose cytoplasmic GFP (left bottom cells). Erebotic cells lose nuclear GFP (a cell in the center) and nuclear RFP (a cell at the leading center). Due to the fact that the Ance-positive cells were often near where new cells are born in the gut, they theorized that the new type of cell death is related to turnover in the intestines. Cells in late-stage erebosis did show a general marker for cell death related to abject DNA.
In-depth evaluation of the cells in which erebosis was occurring exposed that they were situated near clusters of gut stem cells.