The secreted protein disulfide isomerase Ag1, lost by ancestors of poorly regenerating vertebrates, is required for Xenopus laevis tail regeneration
As is known, unlike cold-blooded vertebrates, warm-blooded vertebrates are not able to regenerate such complex structures as a limb or tail. Earlier, researchers from the Laboratory of Molecular Bases of Embryogenesis IBCH RAS proposed a hypothesis about the relationship between the weakening of regenerative abilities in warm-blooded animals and the loss of some genes that regulate regeneration in cold-blooded animals. In support of this hypothesis, we showed that there are indeed genes essential for the regeneration among the found genes lost by warm-blooded vertebrates, particularly the gene for the secreted disulfide isomerase Ag1. Strong activation of this gene on 1 and 2 days post-amputation of the tail in a model object, the frog Xenopus laevis tadpoles, indicated its essential role at the beginning of regeneration processes. It was shown that knockdown of ag1 reduces the ability to regenerate the amputated tail. At the same time, this ability can be restored either by overexpression of ag1 or by the addition of its recombinant protein to the tadpoles. This work was published in Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology journal. Learn more
october 6, 2021