# The Regulation of Polyploidy in Health and Disease

> **NIH NIH R35** · BOSTON COLLEGE · 2020 · $335,919

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract:
 A key step in tissue repair and regeneration is to replace cells that have been lost or damaged by injury.
One strategy occurs by restoring cell number through cell proliferation and another occurs by increasing cell
size through polyploidization. Polyploid cells (two or more copies of the genome) have been observed in many
mammalian organs following injury, but their role in tissue repair has only recently been recognized. Using the
genetic model organism Drosophila melanogaster, we discovered that polyploid cells arise in the adult
epithelium in response to injury and are required for wound repair. The importance of polyploidization as a
means to assist with tissue repair we believe is more widespread than previously appreciated. Cells are often
observed to re-enter the cell cycle in response to injury, but a major challenge in the field has been to faithfully
distinguish between polyploidization and proliferative cell cycle events. Through single-cell analysis a detailed
picture of the distribution, size, and ploidy of the nuclei throughout the repaired fly epithelium was revealed
using my system. Remarkably, we found that the extent of polyploidy was tuned to precisely restore tissue
mass and maintain organ size. My research has revealed an unexpected, beneficial function for polyploidy,
despite its association with many degenerative diseases, including cancer. Therefore, the degree of polyploidy
and the mechanisms that produce polyploid cells must be tightly regulated. One of the key regulators of
polyploidization, we identified, is Yorkie (Yki). Yki is the conserved co-transcriptional activator of Hippo
signaling pathway and its transcriptional targets appear to dictate whether cells polyploidizes or proliferate
during tissue repair. The overall objective of this scientific program is to identify the mechanisms that regulate
polyploidization in adult tissues in order to promote a compensatory and prevent a pathological, disease
response. The critical next step towards achieving this goal are to elucidate the signals that activate Yki to
produce polyploid cells and the downstream Yki-dependent gene expression program that regulates the
degree of polyploidy in adult tissues. In summary, this research program will provide fundamental insight into
mechanisms regulating polyploidization providing a foundation for how to control polyploidization in health and
disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9989173
- **Project number:** 5R35GM124691-04
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** Vicki P Losick
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $335,919
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9989173

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9989173, The Regulation of Polyploidy in Health and Disease (5R35GM124691-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9989173. Licensed CC0.

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