Fingernails Clue to Human Limb Regeneration
Topic: Prostheses - Prosthetics
Author: NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine
Published: 2013/06/14 - Updated: 2022/01/28
Contents: Summary - Introduction - Main - Related
Synopsis: Findings hold promise for amputees who may one day be able to benefit from therapies that help the body regenerate lost limbs. Mammals possess the remarkable ability to regenerate a lost fingertip, including the nail, nerves and even bone. In humans, an amputated fingertip can sprout back in as little as two months, a phenomenon that has remained poorly understood until now. These findings suggest that Wnt signaling is essential for fingertip regeneration, and point the way to therapies that could help people regenerate lost limbs. An estimated 1.7 million people in the U.S. live with amputations.
Introduction
Fingernails reveal clues to limb regeneration as researchers discover biochemical pathway that links nail growth to fingertip regeneration.
Main Digest
Mammals possess the remarkable ability to regenerate a lost fingertip, including the nail, nerves and even bone. In humans, an amputated fingertip can sprout back in as little as two months, a phenomenon that has remained poorly understood until now.
In a paper published in the journal Nature, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center shed light on this rare regenerative power in mammals, using genetically engineered mice to document for the first time the biochemical chain of events that unfolds in the wake of a fingertip amputation. The findings hold promise for amputees who may one day be able to benefit from therapies that help the body regenerate lost limbs.
"Everyone knows that fingernails keep growing, but no one really knows why," says lead author Mayumi Ito, PhD, assistant professor of dermatology in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology at NYU School of Medicine.
Nor is much understood about the link between nail growth and the regenerative ability of the bone and tissue beneath the nail. Now, Dr. Ito and team have discovered an important clue in this process: a population of self-renewing stem cells in the nail matrix, a part of the nail bed rich in nerve endings and blood vessels that stimulate nail growth. Moreover, the scientists have found that these stem cells depend upon a family of proteins known as the "Wnt signaling network" the same proteins that play a crucial role in hair and tissue regeneration to regenerate bone in the fingertip.
"When we blocked the Wnt-signaling pathway in mice with amputated fingertips, the nail and bone did not grow back as they normally would," says Dr. Ito.
Even more intriguing, the researchers found that they could manipulate the Wnt pathway to stimulate regeneration in bone and tissue just beyond the fingertip.
"Amputations of this magnitude ordinarily do not grow back," says Dr. Ito.
These findings suggest that Wnt signaling is essential for fingertip regeneration, and point the way to therapies that could help people regenerate lost limbs. An estimated 1.7 million people in the U.S. live with amputations.
The team's next step is to zoom in on the molecular mechanisms that control how the Wnt signaling pathway interacts with the nail stem cells to influence bone and nail growth.
Attribution/Source(s):
This quality-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World due to its significant relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine, and published on 2013/06/14 (Edit Update: 2022/01/28), the content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity. For further details or clarifications, NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine can be contacted at nyulangone.org. NOTE: Disabled World does not provide any warranties or endorsements related to this article.
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Cite This Page (APA): NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine. (2013, June 14 - Last revised: 2022, January 28). Fingernails Clue to Human Limb Regeneration. Disabled World. Retrieved September 9, 2024 from www.disabled-world.com/assistivedevices/prostheses/regeneration.php
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