Planarian flatworms are able to clone themselves from one cell

Planarian flatworms in adulthood retain "all-powerful" stem cells that can turn into any other cell tissue and organ. In severe injuries, one such cell can actually recreate adult planarians.

Fantastic ability of planarian regeneration have long been known. If you cut this flatworm 100 fragments, each of them to restore a full body, with all the systems and internal organs. But the source of regenerative capacity has long remained unknown.

It turned out that adult planarians in the body remains a noticeable population of embryonic stem cells, which give rise to any cell type. Many animals, including man, to maintain stem cells mature, but they are not universal. Thus, hematopoietic stem cells can only give red blood cells; skin stem cells are able to recover only covers the body, skin and hair.

Peter Reddin of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, together with colleagues from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology decided to investigate the ability of stem cells of planarians. In order to suppress the ability of cells to divide worms, planarian researchers subjected to radiation; The selected dose of radiation allowed to survive some neoblasts (cells that migrate to the affected area heal wounds and form healthy tissue). Such neoblasts when they then attempted to grow in cell culture, showed all properties of stem cells, forming cells of different tissues. Some of neoblasts (they were called clonogenic) were able to develop into all the tissues of the adult worm.

To confirm the universality of clonogenic neoblasts, scientists have transplanted their worms irradiated with a lethal dose of radiation when the planarian there was not a single cell, the ability to divide. What happened next, the researchers themselves are called not only as a sci-fi movie: a single cell heals completely irradiated Planar! Slowly but surely, the descendants of the transplanted cells replaced damaged tissue throughout the body, down to the ganglia and sensory organs. At the end of the worm consisted of cells genetically identical to the donor clonogenic cell. At the same time the animal feel normal, eat, grow and multiply.

Basic science says that this is the first time that an adult animal bears pluripotent stem cells. Until now it was thought that such omnipotent cells from the body to the end of his birth. Well, for applied science which means a possible breakthrough in regenerative medicine: if you can find human genes similar to those that govern neoblasts worms, you can create a similar omnipotent cells and human material.

Source: science.compulenta.ru

via factroom.ru