Regeneration
Murawala and Masselink Redefine the Evolution of Axolotl Tail Regeneration
- January 10, 2025
In a new review in the journal Cells & Development, Masselink and Murawala make an addition to the scientific literature on the axolotl’s prodigious regenerative powers and their evolution. In contrast to other types of regeneration that essentially mimic an animal’s initial embryonic development, they highlight their recent discovery that when an axolotl’s tail is injured it depends on a hidden progenitor cell to initiate the regeneration process.
“We hypothesize that as evolution progressed from lizards and salamanders to mammals, these cells lost their potential as progenitors, and that could be a primary reason why we humans are very poor in terms of regenerative ability,” Murawala says. “If we can more fully understand how axolotl can regrow these muscles and vertebrae and spinal cord, then one day we will have a new way to address musculo-spinal diseases.”
The scientists and colleagues first detailed the findings in a preprint publication, and their work continues to explore and understand the phenomenon.