Leaving the niche : stem cell behaviour during early differentiation

Just like self-renewal and competing to remain in the niche, differentiation is an active process that requires coordination across a tissue and active signalling. We identified a signal that promotes differentiation. This is the PI3K/Tor pathway, the major regulator of cellular growth.
We are filming the early steps of CySC differentiation to understand what cellular changes take place as cells leave the niche and how the multiple lineages in the tissue are coordinated. We are also exploring the targets of Tor activity in differentiating cells.