昆虫干细胞研究进展

Progress in the Studies of Insect Stem Cell

干细胞是一类具有自我更新和分化潜能的细胞,按照其来源可分为胚胎干细胞和成年干细胞。昆虫中也同样存在多种干细胞。开展昆虫干细胞自我更新、发育命运决定、分化潜能等特性以及其与周围微环境相互关系的研究,对农林害虫的生物防治、经济昆虫的遗传育种以及一些生物反应器材料的利用,甚至对于人类疾病的治疗等都具有重要意义。以模式生物果蝇为主,介绍了昆虫干细胞的相关研究进展,重点集中在果蝇各种组织干细胞的鉴定与识别方面,包括研究较成熟的生殖腺内干细胞、中肠干细胞、马氏管干细胞、神经母细胞和造血干细胞。同时介绍了对干细胞维持起重要调控作用的各种信号途径的研究进展。这些昆虫干细胞的研究成果将为开展家蚕等鳞翅目昆虫的干细胞研究提供启示。

Stem cells are characterized by the ability to renew themselves through mitotic cell division and differentiate into a diverse range of specialized cell types.Those cells originate from two types of cells：embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.There are a variety of insect stem cells which are of great significance to studies on the properties of insect stem cell self-renewal,developmental fate determination,differentiation potential,and on the mutual relationship with the surrounding niche.They are also important in biological control of pests,economic insect genetics and breeding,and utilization of bio-reactor materials,and even in the treatment of certain human diseases.This article reviews the research progress of insect stem cells achieved mainly from the model organism Drosophila melanogaster.Special focus is laid on the identification and characterization of stem cells from various Drosophila tissues including stem cells from mature gonad,midgut epithelium,and Malpighian tubule,neuroblasts,and hematopoietic stem cells.We also introduce research progress on various signaling pathways that play important roles in the maintenance of stem cells.These research achievements in insect stem cells would provide inspirations for studies of stem cells in Bombyx mori and other Lepidopterous insect species.