A Chinese university hailed a “new direction” for research into regeneration after scientists were able to grow an antler on a mouse..Researchers from Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi’an were able to use stem cell technology to effectively “regenerate” a deer’s antler in between its ears, and now believe it could be of “great significance” to further understanding tissue and organ repair..Deer shed their antlers every year, and are the only mammal with a regenerative organ..Using this, scientists from the Chinese university used stem cells from an antler which had been shed no more than five days before and injected them into the mouse. Fourty-five days later, the mouse began to grow a small stump on its forehead..Some animals, such as geckos and newts, are able to regrow missing or damaged body parts thanks to blastema cells. Deer also possess these cells within their antlers, allowing them to regrow every year..Scientists now believe this research will develop an understanding of tissue repair, organ damage and combatting organ aging in the future..After the research was first published in Science magazine, the university announced: “For a long time, scientists have been trying to find answers from lower vertebrates with extremely strong regeneration abilities, such as zebrafish and newts, but there is still a lack of in-depth analysis of the mammalian regeneration mechanisms.”.“The deer antler is the only organ in mammals that can regenerate periodically and completely under natural conditions. Therefore, the study of antler regeneration ability is conducive to further understanding the regeneration mechanism of mammals.”.“In this paper, the authors established the cell atlas of deer antler regeneration and development, systematically described the cellular and molecular mechanism of deer antler regeneration and rapid growth, and found the unique stem cell group in the antler regeneration process.”.“This stem cell group is the core cell group of antler regeneration ability and is the necessary condition of antler regeneration ability. Through further experimental verification, the cell group showed a strong ability for self-renewal, osteogenesis, cartilage differentiation and bone repair.”.“This research provided a new understanding of the research of mammalian regeneration ability and provides a new research direction for mammalian bone repair and human bone regeneration medicine.”
