# Aging and the nuclear lamina in mitotic stem cells

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 2022 · $193,125

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Tissue homeostasis depends upon the regulated production of differentiated cells to replace
those that are damaged or defective. Homeostasis declines with age, largely because of
decreases in stem cell number and/or function. To intervene in the aging process, it is critical to
understand mechanisms involved in stem cell homeostasis. We discovered that paradigmatic
Drosophila female germline stem cells (fGSCs) use a non-canonical mode of mitosis, wherein
the nuclear envelope and nuclear lamina remain throughout mitosis. In this mode, mitotic
spindles are nucleated from centrosomes embedded in the retained nuclear lamina. This mode
of mitosis has gone unrecognized, due to the rarity of stem cell divisions and the globally
accepted assumption that metazoan mitoses involve nuclear lamina dispersal. As such, how the
mitotic nuclear lamina impacts asymmetric stem cell divisions and stem cell maintenance is
unknown. The long-term goal of these studies is to define contributions of the mitotic nuclear
lamina to fGSC homeostasis during aging. We capitalize on this natural in vivo stem cell
population that demonstrates rapid, age-dependent declines in stem cell functions to address
two aims. Aim 1 will define how biological aging affects the mitotic nuclear lamina. Aim 2 will
define the role of the nuclear lamina checkpoint kinases in physiological aging. Experiments in
this proposal will establish contributions of the newly identified mitotic nuclear lamina to stem
cell maintenance. These studies have the potential to provide insights into lamin associated
diseases such as progeria and provide insights to advance therapeutics that delay or
eliminate stem cell loss during natural aging.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10380783
- **Project number:** 5R21AG072397-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **Principal Investigator:** PAMELA K. GEYER
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $193,125
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-04-01 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10380783

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10380783, Aging and the nuclear lamina in mitotic stem cells (5R21AG072397-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10380783. Licensed CC0.

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