Poster #014
How Lizard Tails May Provide Insight on Limb Regeneration
Mentors: Thomas Lozito, PhD; PI: Thomas Lozito, PhD
Lizards are humans’ closest relatives that have the ability to regenerate. They are capable of growing back their tails, but not limbs, making them possess both regenerative and nonregenerative appendages. Lizard tails are able to form blastemas- a mass of fibroblasts that dedifferentiate after amputation- which suppress scarring and begin regeneration. The purpose of this study is to use lizards’ regeneration abilities to open up the possibility of regeneration in mammals. Data was collected by sectioning tail tissue, then staining and imaging them using brightfield microscopy. The samples used were lizard tails 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days post amputation (DPA). Tail sections were observed to track blastema formation and the tissues within. The study’s results show the growth of cartilage, neural progenitors, and developing muscle. These findings further the understanding of regeneration and will eventually aid in the process of translating reptile tissue reformation into human medicine.