title: Cell proliferation during blastema formation in the regenerating teleost fin.
abstract: Epimorphic regeneration in teleost fins occurs through the establishment of a balanced growth state in which a blastema gives rise to all the mesenchymal cells, whereas definite areas of the epidermis proliferate leading to its extension, thus, allowing the enlargement of the whole structure. This type of regeneration involves specific mechanisms that temporally and spatially regulate cell proliferation. To understand how the blastema is formed and how this growth situation is set up, we investigated cell proliferation patterns in the regenerating fin of the goldfish Carassius auratus from the time of amputation to that of blastema formation by using proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunostaining and bromodeoxyuridine labeling. Wound closure and apical epidermal cap formation took place by epidermal migration and re-arrangement, without the contribution of cell proliferation. As soon as the apical cap had formed, the epidermis started to proliferate at its lateral surfaces, in which all layers maintained cycling for the duration of the studied process. The distal epidermal cap, on the contrary, presented very few cycling cells, and its cytoarchitecture was indicative of continuous remodeling due to ray growth. The basal layer of this epidermal cap showed a typical morphology and remained nonproliferative whilst in contact with the proliferating blastema. Proliferation in the mesenchymal compartment of the ray started far from the amputation plane. Subsequently, cycling cells approached that location, until they formed the blastema in contact with the apical epidermal cap. Differences observed between the epidermis and mesenchyma, regarding activation of the cell cycle and the establishment of proliferative patterns, suggest that differential mechanisms regulate cell proliferation in each of these compartments during the initial stages of regeneration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Málaga, Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: Leonor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Santos-Ruiz
authors.forename: Jesús A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Santamaría
authors.forename: Josefa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Sánchez
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Becerra
mesh_terms: D000671:Amputation, Surgical; D000825:Animal Structures / Q000166:cytology / Q000293:injuries / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002465:Cell Movement; D004261:DNA Replication; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000078404:Epidermal Cells; D006054:Goldfish / Q000502:physiology*; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000502:physiology; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D006133:Growth Substances; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen