Xiaoxi’s paper is accepted into The Journal of Cell Biology
August 27, 2014 The Journal of Cell Biology accepted for publication the article, "A matrix metalloproteinase mediates long-distance attenuation of stem-cell proliferation" by Xiaoxi Wang and Andrea Page-McCaw. The paper finds a novel mechanism regulating the long-distance spreading of Wingless protein to regulate stem cell proliferation. In the fly ovary, Wingless is made by cells at the anterior tip (left) and spreads over 50 µm to somatic stem cells, signaling them to proliferate to make the follicle cells that cover eggs. This spreading is mediated by Dally-like protein, a glypican which is cleaved and antagonized by the matrix metalloproteinase DmMmp2. In Mmp2 mutant ovaries, excess Wingless proliferative sigtnaling causes excess follicle cells (red) to accumulate in the stalks connecting the follicle epithelium of adjacent egg chambers (green).