Science Scroll - Why can't we grow back amputated organs like zebrafish?

Science Scroll - Why can't we grow back amputated organs like zebrafish?
Y. Mallikarjun


Why do human beings not have the same capacity of regeneration as in
zebrafish?

In some animals like zebrafish (a vertebrate), star fish and ascidian
(primitive marine animal), limbs or other organs get regenerated when
amputated. Zebrafish regenerates a wide variety of tissues, including
heart, fin, spinal cord and optic nerve and the regenerative process is
much faster. For instance, if a fin in zebrafish is amputated, it grows
back within a fortnight, while it is not so in the case of human beings.

With zebrafish being 70 per cent similar to humans at genomic level,
scientists from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) are
studying the bio-mechanism of regenerative process in that animal at the
molecular level. They are also looking at star fish and ascidian,
although non-vertebrates, to gain more insight into the role of proteins
in the regeneration of tissue.

The CCMB team led by Dr. Mohammed M. Idris, has analysed the
bio-mechanism of zebrafish caudal fin regeneration. It identified 96
proteins that are associated with regeneration of amputated tissue.

These proteins were found to be directly linked with various molecular,
biological and cellular functions.

Dr. Idris said that if one of the five arms in star fish was cut, it
would be regenerated. However, the process would be slower and might
take a few months. "Whereas, the process in human beings is not absolute
and discrete and that too is restricted to a few organs."

He said that further studies would be carried out involving 'high
throughput quantitative proteomic analysis' for more information.
Subsequently, similar studies in higher animals would be conducted.

"Which gene is responsible (for regeneration) and whether it exists in humans or not" would be ultimately looked into, he added.

He said the association of the identified proteins might lead to a
better understanding of the complexity of regeneration and its varied
extent in different animals.


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