Regeneration Factor

With the exception of the liver, which has a remarkable regenerative ability, the human body is pretty inept at regrowing damaged organs and limbs – especially when compared with certain amphibians and fish. Take the zebrafish, for example, even a severed spinal cord poses nothing more than a temporary inconvenience. If cut, the spinal cord simply starts to mend itself with the formation of a cellular bridge (pictured). Scientists have now identified a crucial protein (labeled green) required for this bridge formation. And, excitingly, humans have this protein too. Moreover, the human version of the protein was found to enhance spinal cord regeneration in zebrafish whose own protein was dysfunctional. In humans, spinal cord injuries result in scars rather than bridges. If scientists could figure out why the newly identified protein is insufficient in humans to promote spinal reconnection they might discover ways to promote such healing therapeutically.

Written by Ruth Williams

Ruth Williams

Writer

Ruth is a freelance science journalist based in the US. She's a regular correspondent for The Scientist, and her work has appeared in The Lancet, Nature, Scientific American Mind, BBC Focus and elsewhere. Twitter @rooph

Website

• Image by M Mokalled and K Poss
• Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
• Image copyright held by original authors
• Research published in Science, November 2016