The Role of Neural Signaling in the Regulation of Growth Plate Activity in the Regenerating Limb Long Bones of the Mexican Axolotl

Presenter

Brendon Lee

Campus

UMass Boston

Sponsor

Catherine McCusker, Department of Biology, UMass Boston

Schedule

Session 3, 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board A50, Campus Center Auditorium, Row 3 (A41-A60) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

The Mexican axolotl is a salamander species that can regenerate limbs throughout its entire life cycle. Since the axolotl is an indeterminately growing species, this means that the axolotl is somehow able to control the growth and overall size of the regenerated limb to fit the proportions of the animal. Yet how this process is regulated or even controlled is not well understood. Previous research performed in the lab discovered that branchial nerves connecting the central nervous system to limbs play a key role in regulating regenerative growth. One study discovered that the removal of nerve signaling significantly impacts the growth of the regenerating limb skeleton within 4 days. However, long bone growth and size can be regulated by multiple mechanisms and in different regions of the long bone. Therefore the main focus of this work is to address this unknown by determining whether nerves regulate the activity of the growth plates in the regenerating long bones. My approach is to use quantitative microscopy to measure differences in the growth plate zones in normal versus denervated regenerating limbs. These experiments will help provide context to understand how the limb nerves control the growth of the regenerating limb skeleton.

Keywords

developmental biology, regeneration, cell cycling, nerve signaling

Research Area

Biological Organisms

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