Prospects for human organ regeneration

African spiny mice can regenerate lost skin and flesh without scarring, offering hope for ways to regenerate lost cells and body parts in humans.

According to a study published in the latest issue of the journal Nature, some African spiny rats that lost up to 60 percent of the skin on their backs quickly healed and continued to grow fur instead of leaving scars.

Unlike lizards, which can regrow tails, and salamanders, which can regrow severed legs, humans and other mammals typically heal wounds with scar tissue.

The African spiny mouse can regenerate 60% of the skin on its back. (Source: nature.com)

Dr Ashley Seifert at the University of Florida, USA and colleagues said the process of cell regeneration that heals wounds in African spiny mice is similar to the process of leg regrowth in salamanders.

Tests showed that these mice produced a “regenerative focal point” known as a stem cell to heal wounds. These same stem cells are also used by salamanders to restore lost body parts.

Mr. Seifert said that one of the main reasons why humans and mammals have difficulty regenerating body parts is because they cannot create stem cells. He hopes that this research can contribute to finding new treatments that allow humans to regenerate cells in new ways./.

According to (Vietnam+) - VT