Cooperative inputs of Bmp and Fgf signaling induce tail regeneration in urodele amphibians.

Urodele amphibians have remarkable organ regeneration ability. They can regenerate not only limbs but also a tail throughout their life. It has been demonstrated that the regeneration of some organs are governed by the presence of neural tissues. For instance, limb regeneration cannot be induced without nerves. Thus, identifying the nerve factors has been the primary focus in amphibian organ regeneration research. Recently, substitute molecules for nerves in limb regeneration, Bmp and Fgfs, were identified. Cooperative inputs of Bmp and Fgfs can induce limb regeneration in the absence of nerves. In the present study, we investigated whether similar or same regeneration mechanisms control another neural tissue governed organ regeneration, i.e., tail regeneration, in Ambystoma mexicanum. Neural tissues in a tail, which is the spinal cord, could transform wound healing responses into organ regeneration responses, similar to nerves in limb regeneration. Furthermore, the identified regeneration inducer Fgf2+Fgf8+Bmp7 showed similar inductive effects. However, further analysis revealed that the blastema cells induced by Fgf2+Fgf8+Bmp7 could participate in the regeneration of several tissues, but could not organize a patterned tail. Regeneration inductive ability of Fgf2+Fgf8+Bmp7 was confirmed in another urodele, Pleurodeles waltl. These results suggest that the organ regeneration ability in urodele amphibians is controlled by a common mechanism.