Dual Role for Headcase in Hemocyte Progenitor Fate Determination in Drosophila melanogaster

Investigators showed that Hdc exerted the downstream mechanisms of Hdc-mediated hematopoietic control by negatively regulating the insulin/mTOR signaling in the niche. When Hdc was depleted in the PSC, the overactivation of this pathway triggered reactive oxygen species accumulation and, in turn, the differentiation of effector lamellocytes non-cell-autonomously.