Tec-1 kinase negatively regulates regenerative neurogenesis in planarians

Alexander Karge, Nicolle A. Bonar, Scott Wood, Christian P. Petersen*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Negative regulators of adult neurogenesis are of particular interest as targets to enhance neuronal repair, but few have yet been identified. Planarians can regenerate their entire CNS using pluripotent adult stem cells, and this process is robustly regulated to ensure that new neurons are produced in proper abundance. Using a high-throughput pipeline to quantify brain chemosensory neurons, we identify the conserved tyrosine kinase tec-1 as a negative regulator of planarian neuronal regeneration. tec-1RNAi increased the abundance of several CNS and PNS neuron subtypes regenerated or maintained through homeostasis, without affecting body patterning or non-neural cells. Experiments using TUNEL, BrdU, progenitor labeling, and stem cell elimination during regeneration indicate tec-1 limits the survival of newly differentiated neurons. In vertebrates, the Tec kinase family has been studied extensively for roles in immune function, and our results identify a novel role for tec-1 as negative regulator of planarian adult neurogenesis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere47293
JournaleLife
Volume9
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General Immunology and Microbiology
  • General Neuroscience

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