Do salamanders hold the key to limb regeneration?

This is an image of a salamander (the newt Notophthalmus viridescens). Credit: University College London

The secret of how salamanders successfully regrow body parts is being unravelled by University College London researchers in a bid to apply it to humans.

For the first time, researchers have found that the ‘ERK pathway’ must be constantly active for salamander cells to be reprogrammed, and hence able to contribute to the regeneration of different body parts.

The team identified a key difference between the activity of this pathway in salamanders and mammals, which helps us to understand why humans can’t regrow limbs and sheds light on how regeneration of human cells can be improved.

The study published in Stem Cell Reports today, demonstrates that the ERK pathway is not fully active in mammalian cells, but when forced to be constantly active, gives the cells more potential for reprogramming and regeneration. This could…