Myohara Maroko
Developmental Biology Department, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Dev Dyn. 2004 Oct;231(2):349-58. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.20115.
The fragmenting potworm Enchytraeus japonensis (Oligochaeta, Annelida) reproduces asexually by dividing the body into several fragments that then regenerate to complete individuals in 4-5 days. Such large-scale regeneration, however, occurs only in some invertebrates. To better our understanding of why regeneration is so limited in many animals, despite their ability to undergo embryonic development from the single cell of a fertilized egg, comparisons were made between regeneration and embryonic development of E. japonensis by using two methods: histochemistry for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and immunohistochemistry with an antibody against acetylated tubulin that visualizes nervous system development. The analyses revealed that both ALP expression patterns and central nervous system development differ between embryogenesis and the regeneration, suggesting that regeneration is not a simple reiteration of embryogenesis but involves different regulatory mechanisms. The study provides a basis for the elucidation of mechanisms that are unique and crucial to regeneration.
裂头蚓（Enchytraeus japonensis）（寡毛纲，环节动物门）通过将身体分成几个片段进行无性繁殖，这些片段随后在4-5天内再生为完整的个体。然而，这种大规模的再生仅发生在一些无脊椎动物中。为了更好地理解为什么许多动物尽管能够从受精卵的单细胞进行胚胎发育，但再生能力却如此有限，我们使用两种方法对裂头蚓的再生和胚胎发育进行了比较：碱性磷酸酶（ALP）组织化学和针对乙酰化微管蛋白的免疫组织化学，后者可观察神经系统的发育。分析表明，胚胎发生和再生过程中ALP表达模式和中枢神经系统发育均存在差异，这表明再生不是胚胎发生的简单重复，而是涉及不同的调节机制。该研究为阐明再生所特有的关键机制提供了基础。
