Complete skin regeneration system of fish unraveled
The research group led by Tokyo Tech's Associate Professor Atsushi Kawakami, graduate student Eri Shibata, and others used the regeneration of zebrafish fins as a model and labeled the cells of the regenerative tissue with fluorescence (Figure 1) using a genetic cell-labeling technique (Cre-loxP site-specific recombination) and tracked their fates over weeks. As a result, they determined that epithelial cells near a wound follow heterogeneous cell fates.
The first group of epithelial cells which are initially recruited to the wound cover the wound but disappear within a few days by apoptosis. The second group of epithelial cells which arrive later become the cells forming the regenerated skin.
However, many of these regenerated skin cells are moved toward the end of the fin and disappear about one to two weeks. In investigating the source of the replenishing skin cells, it was found that numerous new epithelial cells are supplied in the regeneration process by a large area of skin which contain stem cells and become active in cell proliferation.
Intriguingly, it became clear that skin cells in the regeneration process do not undergo special processes such as de-differentiating into stem cells and regenerating, but existing stem cells in the basal layer and differentiated cells in the surface layer each proliferate with their own characteristics intact to regenerate the skin.
Based on this study, it is conceivable that regeneration of skin would become possible by controlling the autonomous proliferation of stem cells in the basal layer in other vertebrates as well, including humans.
If the mechanism of skin regeneration discovered in this study proves to be the same in humans, it is expected to be used in the future to unravel the causes of various skin diseases, in regenerative medicine research, and for other purposes.
###
Reference
Authors: Eri Shibata, Kazunori Ando, Emiko Murase, and Atsushi Kawakami*
Title of original paper: Heterogeneous fates and dynamic rearrangement of regenerative epidermis-derived cells during zebrafish fin regeneration
Journal: Development
DOI: dev.162016 doi: 10.1242/
Affiliation: School of Life Science and Technology,, Tokyo Institute of Technology
*Corresponding authors email: atkawaka@bio.titech.ac.jp
Media Contact
All latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry
Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.
Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.
Newest articles
Popular Weight-Loss Drugs—Beneficial or Risky?
GLP-1 medications tied to decreased risk of dementia, addiction; increased risk of kidney, pancreas and gastrointestinal problems Growing Public Demand for GLP-1RA Weight-Loss Medications Demand for weight-loss medications sold under…
Iron-Nickel-Zirconium Alloy Trigger a New Superconductor Zirconide
Student project uncovers superconductivity in polycrystalline iron nickel zirconide Zirconide: A New Transition Metal Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have discovered a new superconducting material. They combined…
Heart of the Matter: Effective Anti-Obesity Strategies to Protect Cardiovascular Health
People with pockets of fat hidden inside their muscles are at a higher risk of dying or being hospitalised from a heart attack or heart failure, regardless of their body…