Golding Anne, Guay Justin A, Herrera-Rincon Celia, Levin Michael, Kaplan David L
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Department of Biology, Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2016 Jun 3;11(6):e0155618. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155618. eCollection 2016.
In certain amphibian models limb regeneration can be promoted or inhibited by the local wound bed environment. This research introduces a device that can be utilized as an experimental tool to characterize the conditions that promotes limb regeneration in the adult frog (Xenopus laevis) model. In particular, this device was designed to manipulate the local wound environment via a hydrogel insert. Initial characterization of the hydrogel insert revealed that this interaction had a significant influence on mechanical forces to the animal, due to the contraction of the hydrogel. The material and mechanical properties of the hydrogel insert were a factor in the device design in relation to the comfort of the animal and the ability to effectively manipulate the amputation site. The tunable features of the hydrogel were important in determining the pro-regenerative effects in limb regeneration, which was measured by cartilage spike formation and quantified by micro-computed tomography. The hydrogel insert was a factor in the observed morphological outcomes following amputation. Future work will focus on characterizing and optimizing the device's observed capability to manipulate biological pathways that are essential for limb regeneration. However, the present work provides a framework for the role of a hydrogel in the device and a path forward for more systematic studies.
在某些两栖动物模型中，肢体再生可被局部伤口床环境促进或抑制。本研究介绍了一种可作为实验工具的装置，用于表征成年青蛙（非洲爪蟾）模型中促进肢体再生的条件。特别地，该装置旨在通过水凝胶插入物来操纵局部伤口环境。对水凝胶插入物的初步表征表明，由于水凝胶的收缩，这种相互作用对动物所受的机械力有显著影响。水凝胶插入物的材料和力学性能是装置设计中与动物舒适度以及有效操纵截肢部位能力相关的一个因素。水凝胶的可调特性对于确定肢体再生中的促再生作用很重要，肢体再生通过软骨尖形成来衡量，并通过微计算机断层扫描进行量化。水凝胶插入物是截肢后观察到的形态学结果的一个影响因素。未来的工作将集中于表征和优化该装置观察到的操纵对肢体再生至关重要的生物学途径的能力。然而，目前的工作为水凝胶在该装置中的作用提供了一个框架以及更系统研究的前进方向。
