The Fox Lab at Duke University

The tissue regeneration field has made great strides in understanding how division of stem cells can restore injured organs.  However, emerging evidence suggests many tissues rely on non-stem cell mechanisms to restore tissue mass after injury.  Polyploidy can restore tissue mass by increasing cell size (hypertrophy).  In addition to our work on the Drosophila hindgut, injuring the adult Drosophila abdominal and ovarian follicle epithelia causes polyploidization/hypertrophy.  30% resection of the liver, arguably the most highly regenerative mammalian organ, results in full tissue mass restoration exclusively by hypertrophy.  READ  MORE