Big news science fans, we are a step closer to possibly regrowing damaged or missing parts of our bodies thanks to research done by scientists on how lizards regenerate their tails.
A team from Arizona State University is now close to cracking the code on how lizards do it and according to lead author Kenro Kusumi, “Lizards basically share the same toolbox of genes as humans and are the most closely-related animals to humans that can regenerate entire appendages. We discovered that they turn on at least 326 genes in specific regions of the regenerating tail, including genes involved in embryonic development, response to hormonal signals and wound healing.”
Other animals, such as salamanders, frog tadpoles and fish, can also regenerate their tails, with growth mostly at the tip. During tail regeneration, they all turn on genes in what is called the ‘Wnt pathway’ – a process that is required to control stem cells in many organs, such as the brain, hair follicles and blood vessels. However, lizards have a unique pattern of tissue growth that is distributed throughout the tail.
“Regeneration is not an instant process,” said Elizabeth Hutchins, a graduate student in ASU’s molecular and cellular biology program and co-author of the paper. “In fact, it takes lizards more than 60 days to regenerate a functional tail. Lizards form a complex regenerating structure with cells growing into tissues at a number of sites along the tail.”
“We have identified one type of cell that is important for tissue regeneration,” said Jeanne Wilson-Rawls, co-author and associate professor with ASU’s School of Life Sciences. “Just like in mice and humans, lizards have satellite cells that can grow and develop into skeletal muscle and other tissues.”
“Using next-generation technologies to sequence all the genes expressed during regeneration, we have unlocked the mystery of what genes are needed to regrow the lizard tail,” said Kusumi. “By following the genetic recipe for regeneration that is found in lizards, and then harnessing those same genes in human cells, it may be possible to regrow new cartilage, muscle or even spinal cord in the future.”
We can’t wait to see where this research leads us and it could possibly help anything from spinal cord damage to encouraging regrowth of damaged cells in important organ and fingers cross regrowing arms!!
Stay Curious – C.Costigan
