Principles of regeneration in newts

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project Area: Molecular mechanisms underlying reconstruction of 3D structers during regeneration
• Project/Area Number: 22124002
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Review Section: Biological Sciences
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: AGATA KIYOKAZU 京都大学, 理学(系)研究科(研究院), 教授 (70167831)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): INOUE Takeshi 京都大学, 大学院理学研究科, 助教 (40391867)
• Project Period (FY): 2010-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 再生 / イモリ / 四肢 / 関節 / 再生シグナル / トランスジェニック

Outline of Final Research Achievements

When we removed the lower arm of newts at the elbow joint level, we found regeneration of a functional elbow joint within 70 days after amputation, although the size of the regenerating lower arm was still miniature compared to that of the remaining upper arm, suggesting the existence of a reintegration system between regenerating and remaining tissues during regeneration. Based on this finding, we have amputated frog arms at the joint level according to our experiments using newts, and we have succeeded in evoking functional joint regeneration from frog, in which nobody had observed joint regeneration after metamorphosis so far. That is, we have shown a new strategy to induce regeneration ability in "non-regenerative" animals. The remaining joint part in the upper arm may supply cells and produce factors to form a functional elbow joint. This became a landmark work for future regenerative medicine in the field of joint regeneration.

Free Research Field

発生学