Meeting Abstract

102.5  Wednesday, Jan. 7  Growth factor initiated intercalary regeneration in salamanders. CRAWFORD, Karen; St. Mary’s College of Maryland, MD kcrawford@smcm.edu

Grafting a piece of mature skin over the surface of a freshly amputated amphibian limb inhibits regeneration. In striking contrast, when a more distal level blastema (the bud of tissue that forms following amputation) is grafted to a more proximal limb stump it induces intercalary regeneration from the host and a proximodistally complete limb is restored. In contrast, when a mature hand is grafted to a more proximal level stump, intercalary regeneration is inhibited. These experiments create a unique opportunity to decipher the signals responsible for normal intercalary regeneration and possibly regeneration itself. Through juxtaposition of beads charged with growth factors between a mature hand graft and more proximal level stump it may be possible to induce intercalary regeneration and by doing so, begin to identify the early molecular cues that initiate and drive intercalary regeneration in salamanders. Preliminary results employing this approach will be presented.