Lens regeneration in axolotl: new evidence of developmental plasticity

Rinako Suetsugu-Maki, Nobuyasu Maki, Kenta Nakamura, Saulius Sumanas, Jie Zhu, Katia Del Rio-Tsonis, Panagiotis A Tsonis

Among vertebrates lens regeneration is most pronounced in newts, which have the ability to regenerate the entire lens throughout their lives. Regeneration occurs from the dorsal iris by transdifferentiation of the pigment epithelial cells. Interestingly, the ventral iris never contributes to regeneration. Frogs have limited lens regeneration capacity elicited from the cornea during pre-metamorphic stages. The axolotl is another salamander which, like the newt, regenerates its limbs or its tail with the spinal cord, but up until now all reports have shown that it does not regenerate the lens.