Department of Biological Sciences, Wellesley College, 106 Central St., Wellesley, MA 02481, USA.
Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2012 Nov;42(11):854-64. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2012.08.001. Epub 2012 Aug 24.
Regenerative abilities are found ubiquitously among many metazoan taxa. To compare mechanisms underlying the initial stages of limb regeneration between insects and vertebrates, the roles of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling were investigated in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. RNA interference-mediated knockdown of MMP2 expression delayed wound healing and subsequent leg regeneration. Additionally, pairwise knockdown of MMP1/2 and MMP2/3, but not MMP1/3, resulted in inhibition of wound closure. Wound healing on the dorsal epidermis after injury was also delayed when MMPs were silenced. Our findings show that functionally redundant MMPs play key roles during limb regeneration and wound healing in Tribolium. This MMP-mediated wound healing is necessary for the subsequent formation of a blastema. In contrast, silencing of FGF receptor did not interfere with the initial stages of leg regeneration despite the alterations in tanning of the cuticle. Thus, insects and vertebrates appear to employ similar developmental processes for the initial stages of wound closure during limb regeneration, while the role of FGF in limb regeneration appears to be unique to vertebrates.
再生能力普遍存在于许多后生动物类群中。为了比较昆虫和脊椎动物肢体再生初始阶段的机制，研究了基质金属蛋白酶（MMPs）和纤维母细胞生长因子（FGF）信号在赤拟谷盗（Tribolium castaneum）中的作用。RNA 干扰介导的 MMP2 表达下调延迟了伤口愈合和随后的腿部再生。此外，MMP1/2 和 MMP2/3 的成对敲低，但不是 MMP1/3，导致伤口闭合抑制。损伤后背部表皮的伤口愈合也因 MMP 沉默而延迟。我们的研究结果表明，功能冗余的 MMP 在赤拟谷盗肢体再生和伤口愈合过程中发挥关键作用。这种 MMP 介导的伤口愈合对于随后的芽基形成是必要的。相比之下，尽管表皮鞣制发生改变，但沉默 FGF 受体并不干扰腿部再生的初始阶段。因此，昆虫和脊椎动物似乎在肢体再生过程中伤口闭合的初始阶段采用相似的发育过程，而 FGF 在肢体再生中的作用似乎是脊椎动物所特有的。
