Marine worm Platynereis dumerilii
O Platynerei dumerilii He specializes in regeneration and can survive even losing a large part of his body.
In most species, the regeneration It is made by stem cells, which develop into whatever cell type is needed. However, when the final segment of Platynerei dumerilii is removed, various populations of other cells are recruited to quickly restore the missing section of the body.
According to , the process is called dedifferentiation and, for the first time, scientists at the University of Vienna in Austria have identified how worms reverse the state of other cells so that they can be reused.
“This means that these cells return to a similar to stem cells in just a few hours to build a new growth zone as quickly as possible,” explained molecular biologist Leonie Adelmann from the University of Vienna.
The team used two advanced genetic analysis techniques – single-cell RNA sequencing and mosaic transgenesis – to discover how individual cells behaved and switched between states to repair damage done to the worms in the laboratory.
This analysis allowed scientists to track where the cells came from and what type of cells they eventually turned into.
“We discovered, at least, two different populations of stem cells: one that regenerates tissues such as epidermis and neurons, and another that forms muscles and connective tissue”, revealed Adelmann.
Human cell reprogramming is an emerging field of science that promises major improvements in medical treatments, so being able to control how cells transform into specialized types could be an exciting asset for treating disease and repairing damage in the body.
The findings were published in Nature Communications.
