Editor's Summary
2 July 2009
Limb regeneration by memory
The salamander is a powerful model for limb regeneration. Amputation anywhere between shoulder and hand triggers the formation of a progenitor cell zone, the blastema, that regenerates the missing portion. It was thought that blastema cells formed via de-differentiation of cells within the limb. Now a study of the origin of re-generated tissues in the salamander Ambyostoma mexicanum (the axolotl) reveals that the blastema is a heterogeneous collection of restricted progenitor cells, each retaining a memory of its tissue origin. Limb regeneration is achieved without complete de-differentiation to pluripotency, a finding of potential importance for regenerative medicine.
News and Views: Developmental biology: A cellular view of regeneration
How the salamander regrows an entire limb after injury has flummoxed the wisest of scientists. A closer look at the cells involved in limb regeneration shows that remembering past origins may be crucial for this feat.
Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado
doi:10.1038/460039a
Article: Cells keep a memory of their tissue origin during axolotl limb regeneration
Martin Kragl, Dunja Knapp, Eugen Nacu, Shahryar Khattak, Malcolm Maden, Hans Henning Epperlein & Elly M. Tanaka
doi:10.1038/nature08152
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (1,254K) | Supplementary information
