US scientists regrow frog's lost leg, want to test new technique on humans
The experiment was carried out on the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) that had limbs missing due to an injury, the Daily Mail report said.
A group of American researchers has successfully regrown the missing legs of a frog, using a combination of five drugs, the Daily Mail reported. They now want to test the technique in mammals.
The experiment was carried out on the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) that had limbs missing due to an injury, the Daily Mail report said.
The injured part was enclosed in a silicone cap filed with protein gel filled with the five-drug cocktail, which contained brain derived neurotrophic factor, 1,4-dihydrophenonthrolin-4-one-3carboxylicacid, resolvin D5, a growth hormone and retinoic acid.
Each drug had a different purpose, including reducing inflammation and helping in growth of nerve fibres, blood vessels and muscles.
The 'bio domes' were sealed with the solution for just 24 hours, and set in motion the process of regeneration which took 18 months, the Daily Mail reported quoting the researchers
The adult frog, unable to regenerate limbs naturally, had 'almost fully functional' limbs restored, including boneless toes, which they used to help swim, said the team of researchers which included scientists from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts and Harvard University's Wyss Institute in Boston.
The researchers claimed that this method brings them closer to the goal of limb generation for humans.
The regenerated limb moved and responded to touch, the scientists said.
Many creatures like salamanders, starfish, crabs and lizards have the capability to regenerate limbs. Some others, like the flatworms, can be cut into pieces and each piece reconstructs an entire organism.
But humans don't have these capabilities; only the liver can regenerate even after a 50 per cent loss.
