Oregon State University researchers have discovered which molecules control tissue regeneration in zebrafish — an advance that may one day help scientists learn to regenerate tissues in humans.

“Once we unravel the process in zebrafish, it should be possible to learn why higher organisms such as humans are unable to regenerate tissues,” OSU doctoral researcher Lijoy K. Mathews said.

The research was recently published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Medical research has been trying to solve the mystery of tissue regeneration for decades. Scientists hope one day to be able to regenerate human tissues and organs destroyed by heart disease and cancer, or tissues harmed by trauma such as spinal cord damage.

Using zebrafish is a new way of studying tissue regeneration, explained associate professor Robert L. Tanguay. Most researchers working in the field use human embryonic stem cells to produce different cell types for eventual human tissue replacement.

But stem cell research has been fraught with slow progress and controversy. So Tanguay, Mathews and their colleagues chose to study zebrafish.

“Science has learned that human and zebrafish genes are quite similar,” Tanguay said. “We are thinking, if zebrafish and humans have the same genes, how is it that zebrafish are able to regenerate complex tissues, while humans are not?”

The researchers believe this new approach will help to answer that question and provide a path to human tissue regeneration.

The article by the OSU researchers, “Unraveling Tissue Regeneration Pathways Using Chemical Genetics,” is available online at: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmdRetrieve&dbPubMed&optCitation&list_uis17848559.