A TFEB-TGFβ axis systemically regulates diapause, stem cell resilience and protects against a senescence-like state.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 40588651.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s43587-025-00911-4 and PMC identifier 12270908.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Diapause is a long-lived state of resilience that allows organisms to outlast adversity. Caenorhabditis elegans can endure months in a fasting-induced adult reproductive diapause (ARD) and, upon refeeding, regenerate and reproduce. Here we find that mutants of ARD master regulator hlh-30/TFEB arrest in a senescence-like state during ARD and refeeding, in which germline stem cells are characterized by DNA damage, nucleolar expansion, cell cycle arrest and mitochondrial dysfunction, alongside dysregulated immune and growth metabolic signatures, elevated senescence-associated β-galactosidase and premature aging at the organismal level. Forward genetic screens reveal a TFEB-TGFβ signaling axis that systemically controls diapause, stem cell longevity and senescence, aligning nutrient supply to proper metabolism and growth signaling. Notably, TFEB's vital role is conserved in mouse embryonic and human cancer diapause. Thus, ARD offers a powerful model to study stem cell longevity and senescence in vivo, directly relevant to mammals.
Medical subject headings
- Caenorhabditis elegans
- Cellular Senescence
- Transforming Growth Factor beta
- Diapause
- Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
- Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors
- Stem Cells