TGF- β1 signaling is essential for tissue regeneration in the Xenopus tadpole tail

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2021 Jun 5;565:91-96. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.05.082. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTAmphibians such as Xenopus tropicalis exhibit a remarkable capacity for tissue regeneration after traumatic injury. Although transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) receptor signaling is known to be essential for tissue regeneration in fish and amphibians, the role of TGF-β ligands in this process is not well understood. Here, we show that inhibition of TGF-β1 function prevents tail regeneration in Xenopus tropicalis tadpoles. We found that expression of tgfb1 is present before tail amputation and is sustained throughout the regeneration process. CRISPR-mediated knock-out (KO) of tgfb1 retards tail regeneration; the phenotype of tgfb1 KO tadpoles can be rescued by injection of tgfb1 mRNA. Cell proliferation, a critical event for the success of tissue regeneration, is downregulated in tgfb1 KO tadpoles. In addition, tgfb1 KO reduces the expression of phosphorylated Smad2/3 (pSmad2/3) which is important for TGF-β signal-mediated cell proliferation. Collectively, our results show that TGF-β1 regulates cell proliferation through the activation of Smad2/3. We therefore propose that TGF-β1 plays a critical role in TGF-β receptor-dependent tadpole tail regeneration in Xenopus.PMID:34102475 | DOI:10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.05.082

Source: Biochemical and Biophysical Research communications - June 8, 2021 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Makoto Nakamura Hitoshi Yoshida Yuka Moriyama Itsuki Kawakita Marcin Wlizla Kimiko Takebayashi-Suzuki Marko E Horb Atsushi Suzuki Source Type: research