Human Body Regeneration Closer to Reality With Molecular Breakthrough

Body part regeneration is a natural power possessed by some animals though not humans. Now a recent study of zebrafish has put scientists in the U.S. a step closer to unravelling the mechanism such regeneration.

The search for the holy grail of regenerative medicine-the ability to "grow back" a perfect body part when one is lost to injury or disease-has been under way for years, yet the steps involved in this seemingly magic process are still poorly understood.

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Some animals like earthworms, crayfish and tadpoles perform this miraculous feat effortlessly, reports The Telegraph.

Scientists know the process involves mechanisms normally found in developing embryos, but are still not clear about what they are.

Now, the new study on zebrafish has helped scientists identify a key cellular pathway that appears to trigger regeneration by switching on certain genes.

International Research Team Seeks to Unravel Flatworm Regeneration
Because planarian flatworms possess the extraordinary ability to regenerate lost tissue with the help of their stem cells (neoblasts), they are the subject of many research efforts.

"This is the first real molecular insight into what is happening during limb regeneration," said lead author Dr Scott Stewart, from the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California.

"Until now, how amputation is translated into gene activation has been like magic. Finally, we have a handle on a process we can actually follow," he added.

New Findings on Stem Cells for Tissue Regeneration
Previous research that identified critical genes for making muscle stem cells has been disproved by scientists working at the Carnegie Institution's Department of Embryology.

The researchers focused on a biological "priming" system that keeps embryonic cells ready to become whatever kind of tissue they are destined to be.

They found a particular enzyme, or biological catalyst protein, seemed to be crucial to the process.

Scientists Create 'Switch' That Turns Stem Cells into Muscle
American scientists have created a switch that allows mutations or light signals to be turned on in muscle stem cells to monitor muscle regeneration in a living mammal.

The researchers now plan to take a closer look at the enzyme and find out how it operates.

They also intend to determine how the genes are switched off again once regeneration is complete.

Source-ANI
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