Characterizing the lens regeneration process in Pleurodeles waltl

Georgios Tsissios; Gabriella Theodoroudis-Rapp; Weihao Chen; Anthony Sallese; Byran Smucker; Lake Ernst; Junfan Chen; Yiqi Xu; Sophia Ratvasky; Hui Wang; Katia Del Rio-Tsonis

doi:10.1016/j.diff.2023.02.003

Characterizing the lens regeneration process in Pleurodeles waltl

Differentiation. 2023 Jul-Aug:132:15-23. doi: 10.1016/j.diff.2023.02.003. Epub 2023 Mar 11.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA; Center for Visual Sciences at Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA; Cellular Molecular and Structural Biology Program, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA.
² Department of Biology Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA.
³ Center for Visual Sciences at Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA; Cellular Molecular and Structural Biology Program, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA; Department of Chemical, Paper and Biomedical Engineering, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA.
⁴ Department of Biology Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA; Center for Visual Sciences at Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA.
⁵ Center for Visual Sciences at Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA; Department of Statistics, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA.
⁶ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA.
⁷ Center for Visual Sciences at Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA; Department of Chemical, Paper and Biomedical Engineering, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA.
⁸ Department of Biology Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA; Center for Visual Sciences at Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA; Cellular Molecular and Structural Biology Program, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA. Electronic address: delriok@miamioh.edu.

PMID: 37055300
PMCID: PMC10493237 (available on 2024-07-01)
DOI: 10.1016/j.diff.2023.02.003

Abstract

Background: Aging and regeneration are heavily linked processes. While it is generally accepted that regenerative capacity declines with age, some vertebrates, such as newts, can bypass the deleterious effects of aging and successfully regenerate a lens throughout their lifetime.

Results: Here, we used Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) to monitor the lens regeneration process of larvae, juvenile, and adult newts. While all three life stages were able to regenerate a lens through transdifferentiation of the dorsal iris pigment epithelial cells (iPECs), an age-related change in the kinetics of the regeneration process was observed. Consistent with these findings, iPECs from older animals exhibited a delay in cell cycle re-entry. Furthermore, it was observed that clearance of the extracellular matrix (ECM) was delayed in older organisms.

Conclusions: Collectively, our results suggest that although lens regeneration capacity does not decline throughout the lifespan of newts, the intrinsic and extrinsic cellular changes associated with aging alter the kinetics of this process. By understanding how these changes affect lens regeneration in newts, we can gain important insights for restoring the age-related regeneration decline observed in most vertebrates.

Keywords: Aging; Cell cycle; ECM remodeling; Lens regeneration; SD-OCT; iPECs.

MeSH terms

Animals
Cell Division
Extracellular Matrix
Lens, Crystalline*
Pleurodeles*
Salamandridae

Abstract

MeSH terms

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