The zebrafish as a model for complex tissue regeneration

Zebrafish are highly regenerative, able to regrow amputated fins, as well as a lesioned brain, retina, spinal cord, heart, and other tissues. Zebrafish studies have helped identify new mechanistic underpinnings of regeneration in multiple tissues, and in some cases have served as a guide for contemplating regenerative strategies in mammals. In this review, we provide an overview of how in the past decade, zebrafish have become a primary model system for vertebrate tissue regeneration.

• 1
  Differentiated osteoblasts transiently downregulate the osteogenic program, or dedifferentiate, as they contribute to the blastema. After this, resident osteoblasts contribute only osteoblasts to new regenerated structures
• 2
  Zebrafish heart regeneration involves two fundamental components: 1) proliferation of existing cardiomyocytes as the primary cellular source; and 2) an environment that stimulates muscle generation from this source.
• 3
  Zebrafish, by contrast, have the capacity to regenerate neurons within the retina, spinal cord, and brain from resident radial glial cells.