Andras Simon's Group
We try to understand regeneration mechanisms in newts, which are semiaquatic salamanders, and have the widest repertoire of regenerative abilities among vertebrates.
We sequenced a gigantic newt genome, established stable transgenesis, and created means for in vivo genome-editing. To harness these technological developments, we are now combining cell tracking studies, massive parallel sequencing and molecular manipulations in various lesion/regeneration paradigms.
We also carry out cross-species comparisons by which we aim to gain insights into regulatory programs whose appropriate targeting could impose regenerative traits to mammals. We hope that our results will lead to novel regenerative strategies as well as provide explanatory models for the evolutionarily uneven distribution of regenerative capacities.
Group members
Selected Publications
A small noncoding RNA links ribosome recovery and translation control to dedifferentiation during salamander limb regeneration E Subramanian, A Elewa, G Brito, A Kumar, A Segerstolpe, C Karampelias, et al Developmental Cell 2023. 58: 1-11
Altered developmental programs and oriented cell divisions lead to bulky bones during salamander limb regeneration M Kaucka, A Joven, M Tesarova, J Currie, J Petersen, Z Yao, et al Nature Communications 2022. 13(1):6949.
Cell-type profiling in salamanders identifies innovations in vertebrate forebrain evolution J Woych, A Ortega Gurrola, A Deryckere, E Jaeger, E Gumnit, G Merello, et al Science 2022. 377(6610):eabp9186
Epicardium-derived cells organize through tight junctions to replenish cardiac muscle in salamanders E Eroglu, C Yen, Y-L Tsoi, N Wittman, A Elewa, A Joven, et al Nature Cell Biology, 2022 24(5):645-658
Reading and editing the Pleurodeles waltl genome reveals novel features of tetrapod regeneration. Elewa A, Wang H, Talavera-López C, Joven A, Brito G, Kumar A, et al
Nature Communications 2017 12;8(1):2286
MARCKS-like protein is an initiating molecule in axolotl appendage regeneration. Sugiura T, Wang H, Barsacchi R, Simon A, Tanaka EM Nature 2016 Mar;531(7593):237-40
Turning terminally differentiated skeletal muscle cells into regenerative progenitors. Wang H, Lööf S, Borg P, Nader GA, Blau HM, Simon A Nature Communications 2015 Aug;6():7916
Fundamental differences in dedifferentiation and stem cell recruitment during skeletal muscle regeneration in two salamander species. Sandoval-Guzmán T, Wang H, Khattak S, Schuez M, Roensch K, Nacu E, et al Cell Stem Cell 2014 Feb;14(2):174-87