Asymmetric apportioning of aged mitochondria between daughter cells is required for stemness

By dividing asymmetrically, stem cells can generate two daughter cells with distinct fates. However, evidence is limited in mammalian systems for the selective apportioning of subcellular contents between daughters. We followed the fates of old and young organelles during the division of human mammary stemlike cells and found that such cells apportion aged mitochondria asymmetrically between daughter cells. Daughter cells that received fewer old mitochondria maintained stem cell traits. Inhibition of mitochondrial fission disrupted both the age-dependent subcellular localization and segregation of mitochondria and caused loss of stem cell properties in the progeny cells. Hence, mechanisms exist for mammalian…

• HH
  Howard Hughes Medical Institute
• AO
  Academy of Finland
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: R01 CA129105, R01 CA103866, R37 AI047389