Many of the tasks that multi-cellular organisms perform are truly inspiring, from embryogenesis to organogenesis and other developmental processes. Developmental biology covers some of the most interesting procedures of the formation and transformation of living beings. One question in particular that sparked my interest in the vast field is how certain species of animals are able to completely reform a limb after it has been entirely severed. Such a feat is completely and utterly astonishing. The goal of this paper is to gain some insight into the following questions regarding epimorphic limb regeneration. How are some animals able to repair and regenerate an entire limb? What complex mechanisms are underlying the process of limb regeneration?
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The stages include the healing of a wound, dedifferentiation and/or stem cell infiltration followed by differentiation, and last redevelopment. Typical developmental mechanisms are responsible for controlling regeneration and the differentiation of cells in regeneration is very similar to the differentiation of cells in embryogenesis. The later stages of regeneration are sometimes referred to as re-development. Redevelopment can be defined as the growth processes being repeated, in similar fashion to normal development. (Simkin, 2015). As was previously mentioned, there are distinct stages of regeneration. The first stage of regeneration is the healing of a wound which occurs immediately following an amputation. After about 4-12 hours the amputation area is replaced with a cell layer called a “wound epithelium”. The fast formation of the wound epithelium aids in preventing further tissue damage, infection, and an inflammatory response (Tsonis, …show more content…
This stage usually occurs between the six to twenty day period following amputation. During this phase, the blastema is created along with the induction of regeneration specific genes. One important group of genes that have been identified are Hox genes. Hox genes influence the anterior-posterior axis of an animal in embryogenesis and also play an important role in limb development. The process of regeneration is very complex and there are numerous other genes involved in the process. In a study done on the regeneration of a tail from a lizard of the species Anolis carolinensis it was found that approximately 300 different genes were involved in the entire process of regeneration. (Hutchins et. al.
The stages include the healing of a wound, dedifferentiation and/or stem cell infiltration followed by differentiation, and last redevelopment. Typical developmental mechanisms are responsible for controlling regeneration and the differentiation of cells in regeneration is very similar to the differentiation of cells in embryogenesis. The later stages of regeneration are sometimes referred to as re-development. Redevelopment can be defined as the growth processes being repeated, in similar fashion to normal development. (Simkin, 2015). As was previously mentioned, there are distinct stages of regeneration. The first stage of regeneration is the healing of a wound which occurs immediately following an amputation. After about 4-12 hours the amputation area is replaced with a cell layer called a “wound epithelium”. The fast formation of the wound epithelium aids in preventing further tissue damage, infection, and an inflammatory response (Tsonis, …show more content…
This stage usually occurs between the six to twenty day period following amputation. During this phase, the blastema is created along with the induction of regeneration specific genes. One important group of genes that have been identified are Hox genes. Hox genes influence the anterior-posterior axis of an animal in embryogenesis and also play an important role in limb development. The process of regeneration is very complex and there are numerous other genes involved in the process. In a study done on the regeneration of a tail from a lizard of the species Anolis carolinensis it was found that approximately 300 different genes were involved in the entire process of regeneration. (Hutchins et. al.