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Regeneration

Limb regrowth takes two

Nature volume 533, pages 328–330 (2016)Cite this article

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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

The ability of salamanders to regenerate their limbs following amputation was first described in the eighteenth century by the Italian naturalist Lazzaro Spallanzani1. Researchers have been trying to identify the formula for regeneration ever since, in the hope of reawakening this lost ability in mammals. Experiments performed 40 years ago2 showed that limb regeneration requires the participation of tissues from both sides of the limb — the side closer to the thumb (the anterior side) and the opposite, posterior side. However, the mechanisms involved in this process have remained a mystery. On page 407, Nacu et al.3 show that two diffusible signalling molecules underlie this requirement for anterior and posterior tissue.

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Figure 1: Complementary signals promote limb regeneration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Miguel Torres is in the Cardiovascular Development Program, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, 28029 Madrid, Spain.,

    Miguel Torres

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  1. Miguel Torres
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Correspondence to Miguel Torres.

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Developmental biology: A cellular view of regeneration

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Torres, M. Limb regrowth takes two. Nature 533, 328–330 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17889

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