Research Highlights |
Featured
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Research Highlights |
Targeting pain of spinal-cord injury
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News |
US agency to lift ban on funding human–animal hybrids
Researchers in the United States will soon be able to resume creating chimaera-based projects.
- Sara Reardon
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Letter |
Identification of proliferative and mature β-cells in the islets of Langerhans
Mature pancreatic β-cells can be distinguished from proliferating ones by expression of the Fltp reporter gene, which is triggered by Wnt signalling and β-cell polarization and islet compaction.
- Erik Bader
- , Adriana Migliorini
- & Heiko Lickert
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Research Highlights |
Mitochondria make nerves grow
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Technology Feature |
A simpler twist of fate
Ways to directly convert one mature cell type into another may eventually offer a safer, faster strategy for regenerative medicine.
- Michael Eisenstein
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Research Highlights |
Muscle stem cells show dual purpose
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Research Highlights |
Self-help for type 1 diabetes
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News & Views |
Limb regrowth takes two
Salamanders can regenerate several of their organs, including amputated limbs. Analysis of a Mexican salamander shows that crosstalk between two signalling molecules regulates limb regeneration. See Letter p.407
- Miguel Torres
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Letter |
FGF8 and SHH substitute for anterior–posterior tissue interactions to induce limb regeneration
The long-standing puzzle of why salamander limb regeneration requires anterior and posterior tissue interaction has been solved by the demonstration that fibroblast growth factor 8 and sonic hedgehog are key anterior and posterior cross-inductive signals that drive regeneration.
- Eugeniu Nacu
- , Elena Gromberg
- & Elly M. Tanaka
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Article |
Modulation of tissue repair by regeneration enhancer elements
An injury-dependent enhancer element is identified that activates gene expression in regenerating zebrafish tissues and can be engineered into DNA constructs that increase tissue regenerative capacity; the element is also active in injured mouse tissue.
- Junsu Kang
- , Jianxin Hu
- & Kenneth D. Poss
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Research Highlights |
Zebrafish skin in myriad colours
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News & Views |
Not everything is scary about a glial scar
After spinal-cord injury, cells called astrocytes form a scar that is thought to block neuronal regeneration. The finding that the scar promotes regrowth of long nerve projections called axons challenges this long-held dogma. See Article p.195
- Shane A. Liddelow
- & Ben A. Barres
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News |
Transgenic zebrafish forms technicolour 'skinbow'
Fluorescent proteins used to track individual skin cells in real time.
- Adam Levy
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News & Views |
Visionary stem-cell therapies
Stem-cell engineering has allowed successful cornea transplantations in rabbits and the regeneration of transparent lens tissue in children, demonstrating the therapeutic potential of this approach. See Article p.323 & Letter p.376
- Julie T. Daniels
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Article |
Lens regeneration using endogenous stem cells with gain of visual function
A new procedure for cataract removal that preserves lens epithelial progenitor cells in mammals, which require Pax6 and Bmi1 for their self-renewal, achieves lens regeneration in rabbits, macaques and in infants with cataracts.
- Haotian Lin
- , Hong Ouyang
- & Yizhi Liu
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Letter |
MARCKS-like protein is an initiating molecule in axolotl appendage regeneration
The salamander, or axolotl, is well known to be able to regenerate missing body parts, but the signals that drive the initial proliferative response were unclear; now, a secreted protein has been identified that induces the initial cell cycle response after injury.
- Takuji Sugiura
- , Heng Wang
- & Elly M. Tanaka
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Research Highlights |
Insulin from mini stomach
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Research Highlights |
Polymers bolster printed tissue
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News & Views |
Stem cells make the bowel nervous
In Hirschsprung disease, the enteric nervous system (ENS) is missing from the distal bowel. It emerges that postnatal transplantation of stem-cell-derived ENS precursors can prevent death in a mouse model of the disease. See Letter p.105
- Robert O. Heuckeroth
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Letter |
Deriving human ENS lineages for cell therapy and drug discovery in Hirschsprung disease
A differentiation protocol to obtain enteric nervous system (ENS) progenitors and a range of neurons from human pluripotent stem cells is developed; the cells can migrate and graft to the colon of a chick embryo and an adult mouse colon, including in a mouse model of Hirschsprung disease, in which a functional rescue is observed.
- Faranak Fattahi
- , Julius A Steinbeck
- & Lorenz Studer
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Research Highlights |
Chemical revives neuron function
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News & Views |
Innate immunity repairs gut lining
It emerges that innate immune cells called group 3 innate lymphoid cells signal directly to intestinal stem cells to promote the replacement of damaged epithelial cells lining the gut. See Letter p.560
- Konrad Gronke
- & Andreas Diefenbach
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Research Highlights |
How mice regrow ear tissue
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Research Highlights |
Mammary ducts made in a dish
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Research Highlights |
A way to regrow nerve fibres
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News |
'Young blood' anti-ageing mechanism called into question
A protein in the blood of young mice that seemed to rejuvenate older animals may do the opposite.
- Sara Reardon
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News |
Scientists stumble across unknown stem-cell type
‘Region-selective’ pluripotent cells raise possibility of growing human organs in animals.
- Sara Reardon
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Letter |
Epicardial regeneration is guided by cardiac outflow tract and Hedgehog signalling
Using a genetic approach in zebrafish, the mesothelial covering of the heart—the epicardium—is shown to have a high regenerative ability after injury, a process that is driven by Hedgehog signalling originating from the outflow tract.
- Jinhu Wang
- , Jingli Cao
- & Kenneth D. Poss
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Outlook |
Polymers: Secrets from the deep sea
The mechanism used by mussels to stick to slippery rocks is the idea behind glue that could mend broken bones.
- Andrew R. Scott
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Letter |
Lineage-negative progenitors mobilize to regenerate lung epithelium after major injury
Lineage-tracing experiments identify a rare, undifferentiated population of quiescent cells in the mouse distal lung that are activated through a Notch signalling pathway to repair the epithelium after bleomycin- or influenza-mediated injury; inappropriate Notch signalling may be a major contributor to failed regeneration within the lungs of patients with chronic lung disease.
- Andrew E. Vaughan
- , Alexis N. Brumwell
- & Harold A. Chapman
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Letter |
Diabetes recovery by age-dependent conversion of pancreatic δ-cells into insulin producers
An investigation of the influence of age on the generation of insulin-producing cells after β-cell loss in mice reveals that, whereas α-cells can reprogram to produce insulin from puberty to adulthood, efficient reconstitution in the very young is through δ-cell reprogramming, leading to complete diabetes recovery.
- Simona Chera
- , Delphine Baronnier
- & Pedro L. Herrera
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Letter |
Human embryonic-stem-cell-derived cardiomyocytes regenerate non-human primate hearts
Regeneration of the heart muscle after myocardial infarction with cardiomyocytes derived from human embryonic stem cells is demonstrated in non-human primates, with the grafts showing evidence of electromechanical coupling, although they were also associated with non-fatal arrhythmias.
- James J. H. Chong
- , Xiulan Yang
- & Charles E. Murry
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Letter |
The molecular logic for planarian regeneration along the anterior–posterior axis
More than a century ago, Thomas Hunt Morgan attempted to explain the extraordinary regenerative ability of planarians such as Dugesia japonica, which can regenerate a complete individual even from a tail fragment, by proposing that two opposing morphogenetic gradients along the anterior–posterior axis are required for regeneration; here ERK and β-catenin signalling are shown to form these gradients.
- Yoshihiko Umesono
- , Junichi Tasaki
- & Kiyokazu Agata
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Letter |
Restoration of anterior regeneration in a planarian with limited regenerative ability
Although the capacity for tissue regeneration of planarians is exceptional, planarians with more limited regenerative capacities are known; this study of Procotyla fluviatilis, a planarian with restricted ability to replace missing tissues, shows that Wnt signalling is aberrantly regulated in regeneration-deficient tissues and that downregulation of Wnt signalling in these regions restores regenerative abilities, revealing that manipulating a single signalling pathway can reverse the evolutionary loss of regenerative potential.
- James M. Sikes
- & Phillip A. Newmark
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Letter |
Wnt activation in nail epithelium couples nail growth to digit regeneration
Nail stem cells (NSCs) reside in the proximal nail matrix, and early nail progenitors undergo Wnt-dependent differentiation into the nail; after amputation, Wnt activation is required for nail and digit regeneration, and amputations proximal to the Wnt-active nail progenitors fail to regenerate, but β-catenin stabilization in the NSC region induces regeneration.
- Makoto Takeo
- , Wei Chin Chou
- & Mayumi Ito
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News |
Heart cells coaxed to divide and conquer
The heart does have a limited ability to heal itself — and a genetic 'trick' can harness this.
- Kerri Smith
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News & Views |
A boost for heart regeneration
Heart muscle cells die en masse after injury, yet the adult mammalian heart retains little capacity to regenerate them. Regulatory microRNA sequences may stimulate self-renewal of these muscle cells. See Article p.376
- Mark Mercola
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Article |
Functional screening identifies miRNAs inducing cardiac regeneration
The human heart regenerates poorly, causing insufficient healing after injury; here, microRNAs screened for the ability to induce cardiomyocyte proliferation are shown to stimulate cardiac regeneration and almost complete recovery of the heart after infarction.
- Ana Eulalio
- , Miguel Mano
- & Mauro Giacca
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Letter |
Restriction of intestinal stem cell expansion and the regenerative response by YAP
YAP has previously been identified as an oncogene that promotes cell growth, but now it is shown to restrict stem cell expansion during regeneration in the mouse intestine, suggesting that it may function as a tumour suppressor in colon cancer.
- Evan R. Barry
- , Teppei Morikawa
- & Fernando D. Camargo
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Letter |
Skin shedding and tissue regeneration in African spiny mice (Acomys)
African spiny mice (Acomys) are shown to be capable of regenerating hair follicles, adipose tissue and cartilage, and they can heal deep lesions of skin, with little scarring, suggesting that these mice could prove useful as a model system for studying tissue regeneration in mammals.
- Ashley W. Seifert
- , Stephen G. Kiama
- & Malcolm Maden
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Letter |
Live imaging of stem cell and progeny behaviour in physiological hair-follicle regeneration
A non-invasive method is used to study and manipulate hair-follicle regeneration over time in live mice, and shows that hair growth involves spatially regulated cell divisions, cellular reorganization and migration of epithelial cells, and that the mesenchyme is required for hair growth.
- Panteleimon Rompolas
- , Elizabeth R. Deschene
- & Valentina Greco
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Letter |
An RNA interference screen uncovers a new molecule in stem cell self-renewal and long-term regeneration
The transcription factor TBX1 has a role in stem cell activation and self-renewal during long-term tissue regeneration.
- Ting Chen
- , Evan Heller
- & Elaine Fuchs
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Research Highlights |
Breathing easier with stem cells
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Article |
Germ-layer and lineage-restricted stem/progenitors regenerate the mouse digit tip
- Yuval Rinkevich
- , Paul Lindau
- & Irving L. Weissman
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Article |
Lgr5 homologues associate with Wnt receptors and mediate R-spondin signalling
- Wim de Lau
- , Nick Barker
- & Hans Clevers
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Letter |
Hedgehog/Wnt feedback supports regenerative proliferation of epithelial stem cells in bladder
The maintenance and regeneration of the epithelium of the adult bladder is poorly understood yet it is a clinically relevant process during urinary tract infections and bladder cancer. This study provides insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the regenerative response to injury within the mammalian urinary bladder. Upon injury by bacterial infection or chemical agents, a Shh and Wnt signalling feedback circuit between basal cells of the urothelium and the stromal cells that underlie them leads to regenerative proliferation of the bladder epithelia.
- Kunyoo Shin
- , John Lee
- & Philip A. Beachy
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Letter |
Telomerase reactivation reverses tissue degeneration in aged telomerase-deficient mice
Here it is shown that reactivation of endogenous telomerase activity in mice extends telomeres, reduces DNA damage signalling, allows resumption of proliferation in quiescent cultures, and eliminates degenerative phenotypes across multiple organs including testes, spleens and intestines. Accumulating evidence implicating telomere damage as a driver of age-associated organ decline and disease and the reversal of damage observed here support the development of regenerative strategies designed to restore telomere integrity.
- Mariela Jaskelioff
- , Florian L. Muller
- & Ronald A. DePinho
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Letter |
Inductive angiocrine signals from sinusoidal endothelium are required for liver regeneration
These authors describe a molecular pathway by which endothelial cells sustain liver regeneration after surgical resection. Activation of vascular endothelial growth factor-A receptor-2 in a defined subpopulation of liver endothelial cells leads to the upregulation of the endothelial-specific transcription factor Id1, which in turn induces Wnt2 and hepatocyte growth factor, which are secreted from the endothelial cells and trigger hepatocyte proliferation.
- Bi-Sen Ding
- , Daniel J. Nolan
- & Shahin Rafii
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Research Highlights |
Regenerative biology: Rat pancreas for mice