In-person or Register via Zoom at https://usc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAqdOmvrDwiHdZyplxWIV0xNNCRq_5LNYNp

"Body-wide Cellular Activation Responses to Amputation in Axolotl"

Axolotls can completely regenerate limbs throughout life, and understanding how they do this could provide important clues for regenerative medicine in the future. My lab aims to understand how axolotls interpret amputation injury to stimulate the formation of a visible, transient population of progenitor cells, the blastema. Most studies focus on cellular events at the injury site, but we found that amputation provokes tissue-resident stem cells throughout the body to re-enter the cell cycle and become "systemically-activated." Here, I will discuss the consequences and mechanisms of systemic activation in axolotl, highlighting the potential implications for our understanding of how this super-regenerative creature initiates regeneration.