Live imaging reveals the progenitors and cell dynamics of limb regeneration

Live imaging reveals the progenitors and cell dynamics of limb regeneration

Wed, 02/11/2016

Publication

IGFL Publication in e-Life

Leg regeneration in Parhyale hawaiensis. © Frederike Alwes
Regeneration is a complex and dynamic process, mobilizing diverse cell types and remodelling tissues over long time periods. A team of researchers from the Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon (IGFL), led by Michalis Averof,  just published in e-Life the results of their last research. 
Tracking cell fate and behaviour during regeneration in active adult animals is especially challenging. Here, we establish continuous live imaging of leg regeneration at single-cell resolution in the crustacean Parhyale hawaiensis.
By live recordings encompassing the first 4-5 days after amputation, we capture the cellular events that contribute to wound closure and morphogenesis of regenerating legs with unprecedented resolution and temporal detail. Using these recordings we are able to track cell lineages, to generate fate maps of the blastema and to identify the progenitors of regenerated epidermis. We find that there are no specialized stem cells for the epidermis. Most epidermal cells in the distal part of the leg stump proliferate, acquire new positional values and contribute to new segments in the regenerating leg.
Theses researches were performed by Frederike Alwes, Camille Enjolras et Michalis Averof, PI for "Comparative developmental biology and regeneration".

References : Live imaging reveals the progenitors and cell dynamics of limb regeneration. Alwes F, Enjolras C, Averof M. Elife. 2016 Oct 25;5. pii: e19766. doi: 10.7554/eLife.19766.
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