Identification and analysis of blastema-specific molecules that are targeted by immature immune system in Xenopus tadoples

到目前为止，我们认为，在“不应期”的爪蟾蝌蚪，不成熟的免疫细胞攻击芽基细胞的截肢尾巴“非自我”，导致失败的尾巴再生，而在“再生期”，调节性T细胞分化，重新激活尾巴再生能力。然而，什么样的免疫细胞靶向芽基细胞仍不清楚。在目前的研究中，我们发现了一种新的基因，该基因应该在入侵截尾残端的免疫细胞中表达，以抑制尾部再生能力。该基因在蝌蚪发育阶段的生存中起着至关重要的作用。这种基因将可用作攻击尾芽细胞的自身反应性免疫细胞的标记。

So far, we suggested that, in the' refractory period' of the Xenopus tadpoles, immature immune cells attack blastema cells of the amputated tails as' non-self', resulting in failure in tail regeneration, whereas, in the' regeneration period', regulatory T cells differentiate to reactivate tail regenerative ability. However, what kinds of immune cells target the blastema cells remains unclear. In the present study, we identified a novel gene that is supposed to be expressed in immune cells that invade amputated tail stumps to repress tail regenerative ability. This gene played an essential role in tadpole survival during the developmental stages. This gene will be available as a maker for auto-reactive immune cells that attack tail blastema cells.