short toes mutation of the axolotl

The axolotl mutant strain, short toes (s/s), can regenerate spinal cord and tail, but not limbs. This makes s/s potentially very useful for limb regeneration studies. This mutant merits a new examination that integrates the original description of the mutant, existing experimental studies, new data...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Development, growth & differentiation growth & differentiation, 2007-08, Vol.49 (6), p.469-478
Main Authors: Sato, Kazuna, Chernoff, Ellen A.G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambystoma
amphibian regeneration
Animals
axolotl
Extremities - embryology
Limb Deformities, Congenital - embryology
Limb Deformities, Congenital - genetics
limb regeneration
Mutation
short toes mutant
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Summary:The axolotl mutant strain, short toes (s/s), can regenerate spinal cord and tail, but not limbs. This makes s/s potentially very useful for limb regeneration studies. This mutant merits a new examination that integrates the original description of the mutant, existing experimental studies, new data and current thinking about stem cells and regeneration. There are still major gaps in information about this mutant; the gene(s) causing the defects has not yet been discovered, and even the histological description is incomplete, especially regarding muscle abnormalities. In the short toes limb, MyHC (myosin heavy chain)-1, MyHC-2b and pax7 are down-regulated. In particular, all three MyHC genes and pax7 are highly expressed in the normal limb, but almost lost in the s/s limb. MyHC genes are one of the main components of skeletal muscle, and Pax7 is the skeletal muscle satellite cell marker. Histological experiments confirm that severe s/s has lost most skeletal muscle and myosin. These results suggest that skeletal muscle, which includes satellite cells, could play an important role in axolotl limb regeneration.
ISSN:0012-1592
1440-169X
DOI:10.1111/j.1440-169X.2007.00950.x