Limb regeneration
Are salamanders keeping a secret?
NanoNewsNet based on UCL materials: Limb regeneration: do salamanders hold the key?The secret of how the salamander manages to restore lost body parts has been revealed.
In order for the cells of her body to change the program and, therefore, be able to contribute to the regeneration process, the constant activity of the molecular pathway ERK must be maintained, the scientists found.
The secret of successful recovery of body parts by salamanders has been revealed by scientists from University College London (UCL). English researchers have found that in order to reprogram salamander cells and "tune" them to regenerate various parts of the body, constant activity of the molecular pathway ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) is necessary.
In addition, they revealed the main difference between the activity of this pathway in salamanders and mammals, which helps to understand why the restoration of lost limbs does not occur in humans, and sheds light on how to increase the ability of human cells to regenerate.
A study published in the journal Stem Cell Reports (Sustained ERK Activation Underlies Reprogramming in Regeneration-Competent Salamander Cells and Distinguishes Them from Their Mammalian Counterparts) shows that in mammalian cells, the ERK pathway is not fully active, while its artificially provoked constant activity increases the ability of cells to reprogram and regenerate.
"While human regeneration is limited, other organisms, such as salamanders, are able to restore an impressive number of complex structures, including parts of the heart, eyes, spinal cord, tails, and these are the only vertebrates capable of fully restoring limbs in adulthood. We are extremely glad that we have found one of the most important molecular pathways, the ERK pathway, which determines the ability of a cell to change its program and help regeneration processes. Manipulation of this mechanism can be used in therapy aimed at increasing the regenerative potential of human cells," says the first author of the article, Dr. Max Yun from the Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology (Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology) UCL.
The ERK pathway is a protein pathway that transmits a signal from the cell surface to its nucleus containing genetic material. Further research by scientists will be aimed at studying how this important pathway is regulated during limb regeneration, and what other molecules are involved in this process.
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