The sea anemone Nematostella vectensis is potentially immortal. Using molecular genetic methods, developmental biologists led by Ulrich Technau from the University of Vienna have now identified for the first time possible candidates for multipotent stem cells in the sea anemone. These stem cells are regulated by evolutionarily highly conserved genes, which in humans are usually only active in the formation of eggs and sperm cells, but give ancient animal phyla such as cnidarians a high degree of regenerative capacity to even escape aging. The results are currently being published in Scientific progress and could also provide insight into the human aging process in the future.
“We only live as long as our stem cells” is a somewhat bold but essentially accurate statement. Stem cells contribute to the continuous renewal of various cells and tissues in humans, for example blood cells, skin or hair. If stem cells lose this ability or their numbers decrease over the course of life, the body ages or develops diseases. Stem cells are therefore of great importance for biomedical research.
While humans and most vertebrates can only regenerate parts of certain organs or limbs, other animal groups have much stronger regeneration mechanisms. This ability is made possible by pluripotent or multipotent stem cells, which can form (differentiate) almost all cell types of the body. The sea anemone Nematostella vectensis is also highly regenerative: it can reproduce asexually by budding and, moreover, shows no signs of aging, which makes it an interesting subject for stem cell research. However, researchers have not yet been able to identify stem cells in these animals.
Using the new ‘Single Cell Genomics’ method, Technau and his team were able to identify cells of a complex organism based on their specific transcriptome profiles and determine from which stem cells they developed. “By combining single-cell gene expression analyzes and transgenesis, we have now been able to identify a large population of cells in the sea anemone that form differentiated cells, such as nerve cells and gland cells, and are therefore candidates for multipotent stem cells,” he explains. first author Andreas Denner from the University of Vienna. Due to their small size, they have remained undiscovered until now.
These potential stem cells express the evolutionarily highly conserved genes nanos And piwithat enable the development of sex cells (sperm and eggs) in all animals, including humans. By specifically the nano2 Using the CRISPR gene scissors, the scientists were also able to prove that the gene is necessary for the formation of germ cells in sea anemones. In other animals, this gene has also been shown to be essential for gamete production.
This proves that this gene function arose about 600 million years ago and has been preserved to this day. In future studies, Ulrich Technau and his team now want to investigate which special properties of the sea anemone’s stem cells are responsible for its potential immortality.
