Modes of Growth and Regeneration

The disposal phase of the retinal rod outer segment renewal process has been studied by radioautography in adult frogs injected with tritiated amino acids. Shortly after injection, newly formed radioactive protein is incorporated into disc membranes which are assembled at the base of the rod outer segment. During the following 2 months, these labeled discs are progressively displaced along the outer segment owing to the repeated formation of newer discs. When the labeled membranes reach the end of the outer segment, they are detached from it. They subsequently may be identified in inclusion bodies within the pigment epithelium by virtue of their content of radioactivity. These inclusions have been termed phagosomes. Disc membrane formation is a continuous process, but the detachment of groups of discs occurs intermittently. The detached outer segment fragments become deformed, compacted, undergo chemical changes, and are displaced within the pigment epithelium. Ultimately, the material contained in the phagosomes is eliminated from the cell. In this manner the pigment epithelium participates actively in the disposal phase of the rod outer segment renewal process.

Mice will replace the tip of a foretoe when it is amputated distal to the last interphalangeal joint. Amputation of the digit more proximal to the joint does not result in regrowth of the foretoe. Though this growth shares certain similarities with the epimorphic regeneration of amphibian limbs, the two processes are not the same. The regrowth reported here in mice is probably similar to the scattered clinical reports of fingertips regeneration in children, and presents a model system with which to explore the controls of wound healing and tissue reconstruction in mammals.