Nerve, organ, and tissue regeneration: Research perspectives, Frederick J. Seil. Oregon: Academic Press, 1983. 482 pages
✍ Scribed by B. F. Sisken
- Book ID
- 102384848
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1984
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 94 KB
- Volume
- 12
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0360-4012
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
As the title implies, regeneration is a general term that can be applied at many levels. The aim of this book is to present an overview of current research in progress. Primary focus has been placed on nerve regeneration, due to heightened interest in this area, and to the more global effects of neural tissue on regenerative phenomena.
The book is a record of the proceedings of a symposium held at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in September 1982. It is divided into six themes: axonal regeneration; regulators of neurite growth; spinal cord regeneration; neural plasticity; central nervous system transplants; and limb, muscle, and organ regeneration. The first section includes papers that characterize regenerative phenomena on a cellular/ molecular level. Barron compares the response of central neurons to that of peripheral neurons after axonal injury. McQuarrie's excellent presentation of cytoskeletal changes during regenerative growth is followed by Grafstein's treatise suggesting focus on the initiation of "restorative" events after nerve injury.
Nerve regeneration is discussed by Uzman and Varon, who employed artificial chambers designed to fit over transected nerves to analyze neurotrophic influences on peripheral nerve regeneration in vivo. Such factors have also been studied in sympathetic ingrowth into the lesioned hippocampus (Davis). An intriguing discussion of the role of the immune system in mammalian CNS regeneration presented by Feringa and Vahlsing opens potentially new avenues of research, as does that of Cohen who demonstrates that cathodally applied electric fields influence the degree of spinal cord regeneration in the larval lamprey. Hippocampal sprouting and circuit reorganization (Cotman), and synaptic remodeling (Seil) emphasize mammalian CNS plasticity, the extent of which has yet to be determined.
Three papers address the efficacy of transplantation of CNS implants into adult brain. All project exciting possibilities for this technique to overcome neural deficits and all caution that experiments performed on rodents may not extrapolate to other mammals.
Limb regeneration in amphibians (Stocum) and in mammals (Person) continues to be the system requiring more definition and new approaches. The complex interactions of multitissues during growth and differentiation are overwhelming even in the well-studied amphibian models. The introduction of new techniques (molecular probes such as retinoids, or applied electrical current) within this research area may hasten our understanding of the mechanisms involved. Muscle regeneration and transplantation are reviewed by Carlson, who describes new techniques for improving free muscle grafts. Bucher et a1 give a well-documented account of their work on control of liver regeneration.