Developmentally programmed cell death in Drosophila

Abstract

During the development of metazoans, programmed cell death (PCD) is essential for tissue patterning, removal of unwanted cells and maintaining homeostasis. In the past 20 years Drosophila melanogaster has been one of the systems of choice for studies involving developmental cell death, providing an ideal genetically tractable model of intermediary complexity between Caenorhabditis elegans and mammals. The lessons learned from studies using Drosophila indicate both the conserved nature of the many cell death pathways as well as novel and unexpected mechanisms. In this article we review the understanding of PCD during Drosophila development, highlighting the key mechanisms that are evolutionarily conserved as well as apparently unusual pathways, which indicate divergence, but provide evidence of complexity acquired during organismic evolution. This article is part of a Special Section entitled: Cell Death Pathways.

Dpp regulates autophagy-dependent midgut removal and signals to block ecdysone production

“…Ecdysone signaling, mediated by the heterodimeric receptor EcR/Usp, regulates the transcription of target genes directly or through early (or primary) [7,9,10]. During salivary gland histolysis, the expression of several autophagy and apoptosis genes increases in response to ecdysone, in part due to the direct binding of EcR/Usp to the promoters [35,36].…”

“…In Drosophila, the major developmental transitions are triggered by the steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E, ecdysone). The hormone binds its heterodimeric receptor, ecdysone receptor/ultraspiracle (EcR/Usp), in a spatiotemporal manner to regulate proliferation, differentiation, and PCD [7][8][9][10]. Multiple environmental and developmental signals coordinate hormone production to regulate developmental transitions and overall body size.…”

Ecdysone-mediated programmed cell death in Drosophila

“…The latter function is particularly evident during development of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. PCD occurs widely throughout different stages of the Drosophila life cycle including embryogenesis, larval development, and during larval-pupal metamorphosis where it functions to remove larval tissues and cells that are not required for the adult fly (Denton et al, 2013a, Xu et al, 2009. The genetic amenability and well-characterised involvement of PCD during its development has made Drosophila a powerful model organism for deciphering the cell death machinery and its regulation.…”

Apoptosis induction by concanavalin A in gut cells of grain aphid

“…The mechanisms by which legume lectins induce apoptosis in insects are unknown. In mammals, caspase-dependent apoptosis is mediated by two main pathways, the death receptor pathway and mitochondrial pathway (Denton et al 2013). Researchers examining the induction of apoptosis by legume lectins in cancer cell lines have proposed that these lectins induce apoptosis by binding to the carbohydrate portion of cell surface glycoproteins or glycolipid, since preventing the binding of these compounds to cell surface by haptenic sugar abrogates their apoptotic effects (Kim et al 1993).…”