Molecular Biology Commons^™

Beryllium Nitrate Supports Fibroblast Migration As An Essential Component Of Skin And Limb Regeneration In Axolotls, Adam Boyd Cook

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Tissue regeneration in salamanders is a robust process that is not easily interrupted or altered. Therefore, inhibiting regeneration provides a means to interrogate the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating this complex event. Here we show that application of a relatively low concentration of beryllium nitrate solution (100mM) causes a delay in skin regeneration and severely alters normal limb regeneration. We provide evidence showing a beryllium-induced reduction in dermal fibroblast migration in vivo and in vitro. We link this phenomenon to delayed regeneration of the skin and abnormal blastema formation resulting in limb patterning defects during regeneration. Though our …