Cell proliferation during blastema formation in the regenerating teleost fin

Abstract

Epimorphic regeneration in teleost fins occurs through the establishment of a balanced growth state in which a blastema gives rise to all the mesenchymal cells, whereas definite areas of the epidermis proliferate leading to its extension, thus, allowing the enlargement of the whole structure. This type of regeneration involves specific mechanisms that temporally and spatially regulate cell proliferation. To understand how the blastema is formed and how this growth situation is set up, we investigated cell proliferation patterns in the regenerating fin of the goldfish Carassius auratus from the time of amputation to that of blastema formation by using proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunostaining and bromodeoxyuridine labeling. Wound closure and apical epidermal cap formation took place by epidermal migration and rearrangement, without the contribution of cell proliferation. As soon as the apical cap had formed, the epidermis started to proliferate at its lateral surfaces, in which all layers maintained cycling for the duration of the studied process. The distal epidermal cap, on the contrary, presented very few cycling cells, and its cytoarchitecture was indicative of continuous remodeling due to ray growth. The basal layer of this epidermal cap showed a typical morphology and remained nonproliferative whilst in contact with the proliferating blastema. Proliferation in the mesenchymal compartment of the ray started far from the amputation plane. Subsequently, cycling cells approached that location, until they formed the blastema in contact with the apical epidermal cap. Differences observed between the epidermis and mesenchyma, regarding activation of the cell cycle and the establishment of proliferative patterns, suggest that differential mechanisms regulate cell proliferation in each of these compartments during the initial stages of regeneration.

Short communication. Evaluation of presumptive caudal fin blastema cells as candidate donors in intraspecies zebrafish (Danio rerio) chimaeras

“…However, several cytological and cell signalling studies (Santamaría et al, 1996;Poleo et al, 2001;Nechiporuk and Keating, 2002;Santos-Ruiz et al, 2002) suggest that dedifferentiation of mesenchymal cells would be a possible mechanism of blastema formation. If this were true, their integration into a chimera specimen would be possible, even in the germ line.…”

Diploidized eggs reprogram adult somatic cell nuclei to pluripotency in nuclear transfer in medaka fish (Oryzias latipes)

“…After experimental amputation of a fish fin, a blastema is formed by de-differentiation of pre-existing mesenchymal cells. The blastema consists of an undifferentiated cell mass that eventually re-establishes all of the necessary amputated tissues (Poleo et al 2001;Nechiporuk & Keating 2002;Santos-Ruiz et al 2002). Primary cultures of caudal fin fragments used as a source of donor cells might contain undifferentiated or differentiating cells derived from the blastema; these cells constitute a type of somatic stem cell.…”

La régénération des appendices chez les vertébrés : un modèle expérimental ancien pour étudier les cellules souches chez l’adulte

“…Les cellules ne commenceront à se multiplier qu'après la fermeture de cette couche superficielle [20,21]. La régé-nération va dépendre de la présence de cet épiderme de cicatrisation pendant toute la période de prolifération cellulaire.…”