Zebrafish Regenerative Ability May Lead To Help In Humans

esocid tips us to news out of Duke University Medical Center, where researchers have discovered a type of microRNA that is related to the ability of zebrafish to regenerate lost or damaged organs. This is the result of a study initiated after it was discovered that zebrafish were able to recover from "massive injury" to the heart through their own regenerative biology. The scientists hope to be able to use this information to bring about similar healing in humans. Zebrafish have also been helpful in cancer research. "In zebrafish, one or more microRNAs appear to be important to keep regeneration on hold until the fish needs new tissue, the Duke researchers say. In response to an injury, the fish then damp down levels of these microRNAs to aid regrowth. Poss and many other cell biologists believe that mammals may have the same tissue regeneration capability as zebrafish, salamanders and newts, but that it is locked away somewhere in our genome, silenced in the course of evolution."

Comments

Re:wouldn't get my hopes up

[gravesb]

Exactly. There must be some evolutionary reason to turn it off, as it seems that this gene, in and of itself, would lead to sturdier off-spring, and thus propagate. It would be interesting to know why it got turned off, though. Rampant cancer, maybe?

Why would regeneration ability be lost in mammals?

[temcat]

In my fairly limited understanding of evolution theory, the features that help to survive are retained through the natural selection. Regeneration ability seems to help to survive - why would it be lost then? Could it be that the time required to naturally regenerate was so long that the animal weakened by the injury died anyway by natural (lack of food and/or water access, climatic factors) or violent (predators) death?

Homeotherms

[overshoot]

Rampant cancer, maybe?

That would be my guess. There's a good bit of research where they tinkered with mouse genes to accelerate or slow telomere erosion, and found that the natural mouse is pretty close to the maximum lifespan possible. Faster erosion causes the mice die of old age sooner, but slower erosion results in more cancer deaths.

Regeneration may well have similar costs. Since all of the natural regenerators are poikilotherms, I would speculate that their overall lower metabolic rate has less risk of cancer. Giving up regeneration may well be the price we pay for warm blood.