Thursday, November 9, 2017

Stem cell responsible for spinal regeneration located

Seeing a Gecko slowly regrow its tail may not seem that important to some people until it is pointed out what is inside the gecko's tail.  The article, "Cells driving gecko's ability to regrow its tail identified,"  goes into detail about the study done to examine the gecko's cell functions after the tail has been removed.  Inside the geckos tail, unlike in mammals, is a portion of the spinal cord so when the tail is removed the gecko is able to not only regrow the tail but the spinal cord as well.  The type of cell responsible is called "radial glia," which is a type of stem cell that is usually dormant.  However, once the injury is sustained the cells change function and begin to regenerate tissue rather than create scar tissue.  Discovering the cells responsible for this could mean the knowledge could be applied to human injuries by coaxing those cells to regenerate tissue rather than apply scar tissue.  As humans DNA code for the same type of stem cell as the geckos, for some reason it is not active in the regeneration process.  Putting scar tissue over the wound rather than regenerating tissue is a quick fix but is bad for the long run.  With this knowledge I think a better understanding of how the injuries can be solved preventing the lose of activity in some limbs due to the spinal injury, which would mean saving a lot of people the pain of having surgeries that may or may not work to regain control of their limbs.

4 comments:

  1. This research is very interesting! Stem cell research is so important in the medical field right now. It would be great if there is further research regarding the connection of this ragial glia stem cell in human. Also, what is the DNA coded for this type of stem cell?

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  2. It is interesting because as humans, we are not capable of regenerating new limbs or new organs like many other species are able to. However, during embryonic development, humans were essentially built by these pluripotent embryonic stem cells. But in the mammalian species, after birth, those pluripotent cells are then replaced with somatic adult stem cells. Still, it is unknown why this change occurs. But this research can definitely be useful in helping researchers understand the genes or mechanisms involved that make this regeneration ability possible. Overall, very interesting!

    On a side note though, I remember reading something a while back about why humans do not keep these embryonic stem cells afterbirth. Some researchers had hypothesized that it could be an evolutionary tradeoff. Since these cells are so hard to control, especially in the human body because it is very complex, it would make humans more susceptible to cancer. In animals that do possess this ability, they tend to have very simple body plans, so it may be easier to control. I am sure that with more research, researchers will be able to figure out a way to activate the genes involved, and hopefully figure out a way to reduce the risk for cancers.

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  3. This research is really interesting, “Stem Cell” is the hot topic in Biology right now. This research is definitely going to be helpful to understand the genes or mechanisms involved in this case to make regeneration possible. If researchers study further or go deep into this topic, they will be able to figure out a way to activate the genes that are involved, and to reduce the risk of cancers.

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  4. This research is very interesting to me, personally because my mom has degenerative disc disorder and has had surgery multiple times. Even the idea of better treatment in for the disease is exciting. The question is when will we be able to efficiently use stem cells to regenerate human tissue?

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