Limb regeneration as applied to humans

Salamanders’ limb regeneration has long been the focus of interest among scientists. The first extensive
cell-level study was by Vincenzo Colucci in 1886.Researchers have been trying to find out the conditions
required for the growth of new limbs and hope that such regeneration could be replicated in humans
using stem cells. Axolotls have been used in research and have been genetically engineered so that a
fluorescent protein is present in cells in the leg, enabling the cell division process to be tracked under
the microscope. It seems that after the loss of a limb, cells draw together to form a clump known as a
blastema. This superficially appears undifferentiated, but cells that originated in the skin later develop
into new skin, muscle cells into new muscle and cartilage cells into new cartilage. It is only the cells from
just beneath the surface of the skin that are pluripotent and able to develop into any type of cell.
Researchers from the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute have found that when macrophages
were removed, salamanders lost their ability to regenerate and instead formed scar tissue. If the
processes involved in forming new tissue can be reverse engineered into humans, it may be possible to
heal injuries of the spinal cord or brain, repair damaged organs and reduce scarring and fibrosis after
surgery.

WHY SALAMANDERS CAN REGROW PERFECT TAILS, BUT LIZARDS CAN’T

If the goal is to translate regeneration research to non-regenerating species like humans, the lizard is a
much better model than the salamander, according to Lozito. Lizards are the closest relative to
mammals that can regenerate an appendage, and they have a similar genome and biochemistry. But
lizards cannot regenerate lost limbs at all, and their regenerated tails are much simpler than the
originals