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Axolotl
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==== Regeneration ==== The feature of the axolotl that attracts most attention is its healing ability: the axolotl does not heal by [[scar]]ring, but is capable of [[regeneration (biology)|tissue regeneration]]; entire lost appendages such as limbs and the tail are regrow over a period of months, and, in certain cases, more vital structures, such as the tissues of the eye and [[heart]] can be regrown.<ref name="nickbaker">{{cite video |date= 2009-11-11 |title= Weird Creatures with Nick Baker |medium= Television series |publisher= [[The Science Channel]] |location= Dartmoor, England, UK <!--|access-date= 2009-12-04 -->|time= 00:25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Caballero-Pérez|first1=Juan|last2=Espinal-Centeno| first2= Annie|last3=Falcon|first3=Francisco|last4=García-Ortega|first4=Luis F.|last5=Curiel-Quesada|first5=Everardo|last6=Cruz-Hernández| first6= Andrés| last7=Bako|first7=Laszlo|last8=Chen|first8=Xuemei|last9=Martínez|first9=Octavio|last10=Alberto Arteaga-Vázquez| first10= Mario| last11= Herrera-Estrella|first11=Luis|date=January 2018|title=Transcriptional landscapes of Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)|journal= [[Developmental Biology]]| language= en| volume=433|issue=2|pages=227–239|doi=10.1016/j.ydbio.2017.08.022|pmid=29291975|doi-access=}}</ref> They can restore parts of their [[central nervous system]], such as less vital parts of their brains. They can also readily accept [[Organ transplantation|transplants]] from other individuals, including eyes and parts of the brain—restoring these alien organs to full functionality. In some cases, axolotls have been known to repair a damaged limb, as well as regenerating an additional one, ending up with an extra appendage that makes them attractive to pet owners as a [[novelty]]. Their ability to regenerate declines with age but does not disappear, though in metamorphosed individuals, the ability to regenerate is greatly diminished. Axolotls experience [[indeterminate growth]], their bodies continuing to grow throughout their life, and some consider this trait to be a direct contributor to their regenerative abilities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sandoval-Guzmán |first=Tatiana |date=August 2023 |title=The axolotl |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41592-023-01961-5 |journal=Nature Methods |language=en |volume=20 |issue=8 |pages=1117–1119 |doi=10.1038/s41592-023-01961-5 |pmid=37553398 |s2cid=260699417 |issn=1548-7091}}</ref> The axolotl is therefore used as a model for the development of limbs in vertebrates.<ref name=PMID18814845>{{cite journal |last1=Roy |first1=S |last2=Gatien |first2=S |title=Regeneration in axolotls: a model to aim for! |journal= [[Experimental Gerontology]] |date=November 2008 |volume=43 |issue=11 |pages=968–73 |pmid=18814845 |doi=10.1016/j.exger.2008.09.003 |s2cid=31199048 }}</ref> There are three basic requirements for regeneration of the limb: the wound [[epithelium]], nerve signaling, and the presence of cells from the different limb axes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vieira |first1=Warren A. |last2=Wells |first2=Kaylee M. |last3=McCusker |first3=Catherine D. |title=Advancements to the Axolotl Model for Regeneration and Aging |journal=Gerontology |date=2020 |volume=66 |issue=3 |pages=212–222 |doi=10.1159/000504294 |pmid=31779024|pmc=7214127 |doi-access=free}}</ref> A wound epidermis is quickly formed by the cells to cover up the site of the wound. In the following days, the cells of the wound epidermis divide and grow, quickly forming a [[blastema]], which means the wound is ready to heal and undergo patterning to form the new limb. It is believed that during limb generation, axolotls have a different system to regulate their internal [[macrophage]] level and suppress [[inflammation]], as scarring prevents proper healing and regeneration.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Goodwin |first1=James W. |last2=Pinto |first2= Alexander R. |last3=Rosenthal |first3=Nadia A. |editor-first= Eric N.| editor-last= Olson |title=Macrophages are required for adult salamander limb regeneration |journal= [[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]]|date=June 4, 2013 |volume=110 |issue=23 |pages=9415–9420 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1300290110 |pmid=23690624 |pmc=3677454 |bibcode=2013PNAS..110.9415G |doi-access=free }}</ref> However, this belief has been questioned by other studies.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pedersen |first1=Katherine |last2=Rasmussen |first2=Rikke Kongsgaard |last3=Dittrich |first3=Anita |last4=Pedersen |first4= Michael |last5=Lauridsen |first5=Henrik |title=Modulating the immune response and the pericardial environment with LPS or prednisolone in the axolotl does not change the regenerative capacity of cryoinjured hearts |journal=[[The FASEB Journal]] |date=April 17, 2020 |volume=34 |issue= S1 |page=1 |doi=10.1096/fasebj.2020.34.s1.04015 |s2cid=218792957 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The axolotl's regenerative properties leave the species as the perfect model to study the process of [[stem cell]]s and its own neoteny feature. Current research can record specific examples of these regenerative properties through tracking cell fates and behaviors, lineage tracing skin [[triploid]] cell [[Graft (surgery)|grafts]], pigmentation imaging, [[electroporation]], tissue clearing and lineage tracing from dye labeling. The newer technologies of [[germline modification]] and [[transgenesis]] are better suited for live imaging the regenerative processes that occur for axolotls.<ref>Masselink, Wouter, and Elly M. Tanaka. "Toward Whole Tissue Imaging of Axolotl Regeneration." Developmental Dynamics, vol. 250, no. 6, 2020, pp. 800–806., https://doi.org/10.1002/dvdy.282.</ref>
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