Healing as a Key Phase of Regeneration Studied by Bulk, Single-cell and Spatial Transcriptomic Analyses

Healing as a Key Phase of Regeneration Studied by Bulk, Single-cell and Spatial Transcriptomic Analyses

Abstract
Regeneration is an interesting biological process that occurs in invertebrates, fishes, reptiles and amphibians. Mammals also demonstrate regenerative capabilities, but it is soon lost after birth. Recently, we have made some advancements and revealed a novel cell population active during the early phase of regeneration. We named it “Regeneration Initiation Cells” (RIC) and studied in details genes specifically expressed in RICs. We will present their functions during tail regeneration in Xenopus laevis embryos determined by bulk, single cell RNA-Seq and spatial transcriptomics (10x Genomics) in combination with functional validation experiments. We believe that our results will serve as a backbone for a more comprehensive understanding of this fascinating process and also aid in the future identification of promising therapeutic targets.