Glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase on old peroxisomes maintains self-renewal of epithelial stem cells after asymmetric cell division.

Abstract

Selective inheritance of sub-cellular components has emerged as a mechanism guiding stem cell fate after asymmetric cell divisions. Peroxisomes play a crucial role in multiple metabolic processes such as fatty acid metabolism and reactive oxygen species detoxification, but the apportioning of peroxisomes during stem cell division remains understudied. Here, we develop a mouse model and labeling technique to follow the dynamics of distinct peroxisome age-classes, and find that old peroxisomes are inherited by the daughter cell retaining full stem cell potency in mammary and epidermal stem cell divisions. Old peroxisomes carry Glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase, whose specific location on the peroxisomal membrane promotes stem cell function by facilitating peroxisomal ether lipid synthesis. Our study demonstrates age-selective apportioning of peroxisomes in vivo, and unveils how functional heterogeneity of peroxisomes is utilized by asymmetrically dividing cells to metabolically divert the fate of the two daughter cells.