Adult axolotls can regenerate original neuronal diversity in response to brain injury.

Elife
Authors
Abstract

The axolotl can regenerate multiple organs, including the brain. It remains, however, unclear whether neuronal diversity, intricate tissue architecture, and axonal connectivity can be regenerated; yet, this is critical for recovery of function and a central aim of cell replacement strategies in the mammalian central nervous system. Here, we demonstrate that, upon mechanical injury to the adult pallium, axolotls can regenerate several of the populations of neurons present before injury. Notably, regenerated neurons acquire functional electrophysiological traits and respond appropriately to afferent inputs. Despite the ability to regenerate specific, molecularly-defined neuronal subtypes, we also uncovered previously unappreciated limitations by showing that newborn neurons organize within altered tissue architecture and fail to re-establish the long-distance axonal tracts and circuit physiology present before injury. The data provide a direct demonstration that diverse, electrophysiologically functional neurons can be regenerated in axolotls, but challenge prior assumptions of functional brain repair in regenerative species.

Year of Publication
2016
Journal
Elife
Volume
5
Date Published
2016 May 09
ISSN
2050-084X
URL
DOI
10.7554/eLife.13998
PubMed ID
27156560
PubMed Central ID
PMC4861602
Links
Grant list
R24 OD010435 / OD / NIH HHS / United States