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Role of Fbxw7 in the Maintenance of Stem Cells
Zhou Dai1, Zhang Peng1, Fan Liqing1,2*
1Institute of Reproductive & Stem Cell Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China; 2The Reproduction Centre of Reproductive & Genetic Hospital, CITIC-XIANGYA, Changsha 410078, China
Abstract: Stem cells are identified by their particular cell cycle status， they have the properties of selfrenewal and multipotency. Stem cells undergo self-renewal divisions to support tissues renewal throughout life.Somatic stem cells are maintained in a quiescent condition but change-over from quiescence to proliferation as needed， but embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells will keep proliferation until the appearance of differentiation factor resulting in blocking of cell cycle progression. To reveal the mechanisms of cell cycle control in stem cells will provide new insights into the regulatory biology of the cell-cycle transitions. Although various positive regulators of stem cell self-renewal have been discovered， little is known about the negative regulators. Here， this review summarises our understanding of the role of Fbxw7 (F-box and WD-40 domaincontaining 7)， a component of the Skp1-Cullin-F-box type ubiquitin ligase， which is a negative regulator of stem cell self-renewal， and a key regulator controling the maintenance and differentiation of stem cells， especially the somic stem cells.
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