In his current research, there is still gaps to fill: how the CYP26B1 gradient is regulated, how to connect retinoic acid with the Shox Gene and what downstream factors determine the formation of specific structures, such as humerus or radius bones.
From healing to regeneration
Monaghan explains that the Axolotls do not have a “magic gene” for regeneration, but they share the same fundamental genes as humans. “The key difference lies in the accessibility Of these genes. While an active injury to scarring genes, in salamanders there are Cell diffusion: The cells return to an embryonic state, where they can respond to signs such as retinoic acid. This ability to return to a “state of development” is the basis of its regeneration, “says the researcher.
Then, if humans have the same genes, why cannot we regenerate? “The difference is that salamander can react this program (development) after injury.” Humans cannot, they only access this path of development during initial growth before delivery. “We have had selective pressure to close us and cure us,” says Monaghan. “My dream and dream of the community is to understand how to make the transition from scar to Blasema.”
James Monaghan.Photography: Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
Monaghan says that in theory it would not be necessary to modify human DNA to induce regeneration, but to intervene at the time and place appropriate to the body with regulatory molecules. For example, the molecular pathways that indicate a cell found in the elbow of the pink side -and not the thumb -could reactivate in a regenerative environment through technologies such as CRISPR. “This understanding could be applied to stem cell therapies. Currently, stem cells cultivated in the laboratory do not know” where they are “when transplanting. If they can be programmed with precise position signals, they could be properly integrated into damaged tissues and contribute to structural regeneration, such as forming a complete Humer,” says the researcher.
After years of work, understanding the role of retinoic acid – study since 1981 – is a source of deep satisfaction for Monaghan. The scientist imagines a future where a patch placed on a wound can reactivate development programs in human cells, emulating the regenerative mechanism of salamander. Although not immediate, he believes that cell engineering to induce regeneration is a goal already available to science.
It reflects on how Axolotl has had a second scientific life. “It was a dominant model a hundred years ago, then dropped for decades, and has now been re -published thanks to modern tools such as gene editing and cell analysis. The team can study any gene and cell during the regenerative process. In addition, Axolotl has become a cultural icon of tenderness and rarity.”
This story originally appeared Cable in Spanish And it has been translated from Spanish.
