Eric RÖTTINGER
Embryogenesis, Regeneration & Aging
Embryogenesis, Regeneration & Aging
KEYWORDS: Nematostella vectensis (Cnidaria, Anthozoa)
Whole body regeneration, tissue renewal, stress response
Whole body regeneration, tissue renewal, stress response
Regeneration is a biological process, during which lost cells, organs or parts of the body are restored to rebuild an entire functional organism. During this process, tissue regrowth involves mainly cell proliferation within a given progenitor/stem cell population in combination with cellular rearrangements to re-established the symmetry and the proportion of the body.
Several marine invertebrates such as planarians and cnidarian (i.e. Hydra, sea anemones, corals) possess extreme regenerative capacities. They regrow missing body parts in only several days when dissected in several pieces. In the main cnidarian extreme regeneration system, the hydrozoan Hydra, the process of extreme regeneration involves specific populations of stem cells, the i-cells. However, these i-cells appear to be a unique feature of hydrozoans.
Our team is using the emerging regeneration system, Nematostella vectensis, to understand how this organism translates the amputation stress into a coordinated cellular and molecular response to regrow missing body parts. This sea anemone is also able to undergo extreme regeneration that requires cellular proliferation, however, stem/progenitor cells have yet to be identified in this anthozoan cnidarian. We have recently identified a particular tissue of Nematostella vectensis that is crucial for the induction of cellular proliferation in the surrounding epithelia. We are currently investigating the identity of the activated cells, as well as the molecular mechanism that underlies the reactivation of the cell cycle in this cell population required to induce the regeneration process in Nematostella vectensis.
Several marine invertebrates such as planarians and cnidarian (i.e. Hydra, sea anemones, corals) possess extreme regenerative capacities. They regrow missing body parts in only several days when dissected in several pieces. In the main cnidarian extreme regeneration system, the hydrozoan Hydra, the process of extreme regeneration involves specific populations of stem cells, the i-cells. However, these i-cells appear to be a unique feature of hydrozoans.
Our team is using the emerging regeneration system, Nematostella vectensis, to understand how this organism translates the amputation stress into a coordinated cellular and molecular response to regrow missing body parts. This sea anemone is also able to undergo extreme regeneration that requires cellular proliferation, however, stem/progenitor cells have yet to be identified in this anthozoan cnidarian. We have recently identified a particular tissue of Nematostella vectensis that is crucial for the induction of cellular proliferation in the surrounding epithelia. We are currently investigating the identity of the activated cells, as well as the molecular mechanism that underlies the reactivation of the cell cycle in this cell population required to induce the regeneration process in Nematostella vectensis.
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