In his current studies, the gaps should still be filled: the adjustable method of the Cyp26B1 gradient, how retinic acid connects with Shox Gen and what further factors determine the formation of specific structures, such as humerus or radius.
From healing to regeneration
Monaghan explains that the axolotles do not have a “magic gene” for revitalization, but they share the same fundamental genes as people. “The key difference is availability these genes. While the trauma in humans activates genes that cause scars, there is Distinguishing cells: Cells return to the embryonic state, in which they can react to signals such as retinic acid. This ability to return to the “development state” is the basis for their revitalization, “explains the researcher.
So if people have the same genes, why can’t we regenerate? “The difference is that Salamander can do it [developmental] Program after an injury. “People cannot – access to this development path before delivery.
James Monaghan.Photo: Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
Monaghan says that theoretically, it would not be necessary to modify the human DNA to cause regeneration, but intervene at the right time and place in the body with regulatory particles. For example, molecular routes that signal a cell that is to be located in the elbow on the pink side – not the thumb – should be reactivated in the regenerative environment using technologies such as CRISPR. “This understanding can be used in stem cell therapies. Currently, stem cells bred in the laboratory do not know” where they are “when they are transplanted. If they can be programmed with precise positional signals, they can correctly integrate with damaged tissues and contribute to structural regeneration, such as the creation of complete pardon, “says the researcher.
After years of work, understanding the role of retinic acid – undergoing since 1981 – is a source of deep satisfaction for Monaghan. The scientist imagines the future in which the patch placed on the wound can reactivate development programs in human cells, imitating the Salamander regeneration mechanism. Although it is not immediate, he believes that mobile engineering to cause regeneration is already within science.
He wonders how Axolotl had a second scientific life. “It was a dominant model a hundred years ago, and then it has been falling for decades, and now it repeated thanks to modern tools, such as gene edition and cell analysis. The team can examine any gene and cell phone during the regenerative process. In addition, Aksolotl has become a cultural icon of delicacy and rare.”
This story originally appeared Wired in Spanish and was translated from Spanish.