Early fin primordia of zebrafish larvae regenerate by a similar growth control mechanism with adult regeneration

Some vertebrate species, including urodele amphibians and teleost fish, have the remarkable ability of regenerating lost body parts. Regeneration studies have been focused on adult tissues, because it is unclear whether or not the repairs of injured tissues during early developmental stages have the same molecular base as that of adult regeneration. Here, we present evidence that a similar cellular and molecular mechanism to adult regeneration operates in the repair process of early zebrafish fin primordia, which are composed of epithelial and mesenchymal cells. We show that larval fin repair occurs through the formation of wound epithelium and blastema-like proliferating cells. Cell proliferation is first induced in the distal-most region and propagates to more proximal regions, as in adult regeneration. We also show that fibroblast growth factor signaling helps induce cell division. Our results suggest that the regeneration machinery directing cell proliferation in response to injury may exist from the early developmental stages. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.