#neoblasts

[evolving-science]

How Flatworms Re-Grow Their Own Heads: Scientists Finally Identify The Potential ‘Grail’ Of Regenerative Medicine

Scientists have known that flatworms (or planarians) could regenerate significant proportions of their own bodies, since the 19th century. A recent paper in the journal Cell claims to have definitively identified the specific cells that allow them to do so. This study could provide further insights into the phenomenon of regeneration and may, in turn, help areas of medical science.

[currentsinbiology]

Deadly flatworm's skin rejuvenation may explain its long-term survival in humans

A parasitic flatworm that infects hundreds of millions of people in the developing world is able to survive in the bloodstream for decades by constantly renewing its skin -- a mechanism that could inform potential new treatments against infection.

Much like its free-living relatives, the flatworm Schistosoma mansoni has a population of stem cells known as neoblasts that are capable of self-renewal, but the function of these cells was previously unknown.

Now, in a study to be published in the journal eLife, researchers have found that the neoblasts are destined to become cells that generate and regenerate the worm's outer layer of skin, a unique tissue called the tegument.

"The tegument serves as a barrier between S. mansoni and the bloodstream of its host, which would otherwise be an inhospitable environment for the parasite," says first author James Collins, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at the UT Southwestern Medical Center.

James J Collins, George R Wendt, Harini Iyer, Phillip A Newmark. Stem cell progeny contribute to the schistosome host-parasite interface. eLife, 2016; 5 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.12473

This is the tegument (skin) of a schistosome. Underneath the tegument are newly born cells (highlighted in orange) that will contribute to this tissue. Nuclei are show in cyan. Credit: James Collins and Phillip Newmark