Elimination of oncogenic cells that regulate epithelial homeostasis in Drosophila

Abstract

Normal epithelial tissues often put anti‐tumorigenic pressure on newly emerged oncogenic cells through cell–cell communications. In Drosophila epithelium, clones of oncogenic cells mutant for evolutionarily conserved apico‐basal polarity genes such as scribble (scrib) and discs large (dlg) are actively eliminated when surrounded by normal cells. It has been reported that c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) signaling in polarity‐deficient cells is crucial for their cell death. However, the mechanism by which normal epithelial tissues exert anti‐tumorigenic effects on polarity‐deficient cells had been elusive. Here, I describe our genetic studies in Drosophila epithelium especially focused on the role of surrounding normal epithelial cells in response to the emergence of polarity‐deficient cells. Furthermore, I also describe recent studies regarding the mechanism by which polarity‐deficient cells are extruded from the tissue, and discuss future perspectives on the study of cell–cell communications in epithelial homeostasis.