Now, a team led by Prof. Xie Ting, Head and Chair Professor of HKUST's Division of Life Science,

 Now, a team led by Prof. Xie Ting, Head and Chair Professor of HKUST's Division of Life Science,

 has discovered for the first time, that the niche uses gap junctions (protein channels connecting stem cell progeny and the niche) to transport its cAMP into stem cell progeny to control their differentiation. cAMP is one of the most important secondary messengers in the cell to regulate many cellular functions, including stem cell differentiation.

Prof. Xie, who is also Kerry Holdings Professor of Science, used the Drosophila ovary as an experimental model to study how two niches control stem cell self-renewal and differentiation, respectively.

The knowledge on niche regulatory mechanisms can help guide stem cells to differentiate into proper cell types for transplantation into degenerative human tissues. It could also help reconstitute the niche for supporting transplanted stem cells and their differentiation into functional cells since degenerative diseases often destroy niches for stem cells and stem cell progeny.

Prof. Xie said, "The findings advance the frontier of knowledge in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, laying the groundwork for the future application of stem cells in treating a wide range of human diseases. Going forward, we plan to explore if differentiation niches for human stem cells also use the gap junction-transported cAMP to control the differentiation into functional cells for stem cell therapy and try to uncover other gap junction-transported molecules from the niche."

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