Molekulare und genetische Medizin

Regeneration and the Plant We have Inside

Abstract

Cernaro V, Donato V, Romeo A, Lacquaniti A, Buemi M

Regeneration is a process that occurs in simple organisms and allows them to rebuild entire parts of the body following an injury. This process is subject to restrictions as progressive as going from the simplest organisms to more complex ones, such as humans, where regeneration is limited to a few examples and an injury is followed in most cases by fibrosis. The mechanisms underlying the different regeneration entity among the various species are still unclear. An example of regeneration is given by plants, whose development and growth are regulated by a class of phytohormones called “Auxin”. The principal auxin produced by the plants is indole-3-acetic acid. Surprisingly, this substance has also been found in humans, where it is considered one of uremic toxins. Why auxin not associated with regenerative abilities in humans as is occurs in plants? And yet, why should a plant hormone is found in an animal organism? In 2011, the first evidence of symbiosis was assessed between a green alga and a vertebrate, the spotted salamander. Moreover in fishes, cells called “rodlet cells” are present and their nature is still uncertain, since they have a cell wall that is typical of vegetable organisms. As both salamanders and fishes can regenerate parts of their body after injury, we wonder if these different aspects, apparently independent of each other, have not actually common points. Auxin may be the connecting link, both for its functions in plants and because there are examples of symbiosis between the animal and plant kingdoms.