Scientists discover genetic code to regenerate limbs

Regeneration of body parts has always fascinated scientists. Now they could be closer to make human regenerate their limbs.

The regeneration of body parts has fascinated scientists since the time of Aristotle. Meanwhile, science fiction has imagined mutants people with the ability to regenerate their limbs. And it is that if we are able to regrow we nails, skin, hair or tissue when they are damaged, why not the case with arms and legs?

A team of scientists from the MDI Biological Laboratory in the US is working on identifying the genetic code that controls limb regeneration. To do this, they are analyzing the DNA of animals such as the Mexican axolotl, a salamander that has the ability to recreate various parts of the body in case of losing.

The aim is to ascertain the functioning of the mechanisms of regeneration to thereby activate power in people "limb regeneration in humans may sound like science fiction, but as far as possible," says P. Voot Yin, one of the study authors.

In the project, researchers have identified genetic regulators responsible for the regeneration of limbs in three species common. In addition to the axolotl, they are also present in zebrafish originally from India, and the fish bichir Africa. When these animals lose a limb, they form what is known as a blastema, a mass of undifferentiated cells that are responsible for the process of cell proliferation and redifferentiation of our structures.
These three species diverged on the evolutionary tree about 420 million years ago, a fact that suggests that regeneration is no specific mechanism for individual species. Therefore, limb regeneration may be possible also in other animals. "We did not expect that gene expression patterns were to be very different in the three species, but were surprised to see that it was consistently the same," said Benajmin L. King, one of the study authors.

Discover a new technique to regenerate tissues

Having identified the genetic signature for regeneration of limbs suggests that nature has created a common "manual" genetic governing this capability, so that can manifest itself in the same way in other animals, including humans.

Besides regeneration, the progress that has been made in this study will also allow improvements in wound healing and tissue, since the mechanisms for this type of cell repair are very similar. Another potential application is the development of more sophisticated prosthetic devices, which have the ability to interact with the ribs and allow greater control.

Doctor leading the research: Dr. Vashe Chandrakanthan