Molecular Basis for the Nerve Dependence of Limb Regeneration in an Adult Vertebrate

摘要

Unlike human, salamanders can regrow an amputated limb. This regeneration occurs only if there is simultaneous regeneration of the severed nerves. Although we usually think of the nervous system as carrying information between nerve cells and their sensory and motor targets, nerves are also essential for tissue regeneration. When a salamander limb is amputated at any position, from the shoulder to the fingertips, the stump forms a blastema, a mound of stem cells from which regeneration begins. The nerve supply cut by the amputation also regenerates, and this re-growth is required for the proliferation of the blastemal cells.