CMCB Life Sciences Seminar: Dr. Ashley Seifert, University of Kentucky

Host: Tatiana Sandoval-Guzman

Title: "Unraveling the mechanistic basis for complex tissue regeneration in spiny mice"

Abstract: A mechanistic understanding for why mammals generally lack the ability to regenerate complex musculoskeletal tissue has remained a biological enigma for hundreds of years.  The discovery that spiny mice (Acomys) can regenerate skin and musculoskeletal tissue has created an opportunity to discover key factors that stimulate a regenerative, rather than fibrotic, response to injury.  Comparative analysis of regenerating spiny mice with non-regenerating rodents implicates macrophages and stress-activated MAPK proteins as key regulators of epimorphic regeneration in mammals.  I will discuss ongoing studies from my lab exploring how these cellular and molecular components specifically drive a regenerative response or are instead involved in a more general wound healing response to injury.