Ligament injury in adult zebrafish triggers ECM remodeling and cell dedifferentiation for scar-free regeneration.

ABSTRACT: After traumatic injury, healing of mammalian ligaments is typically associated with fibrotic scarring as opposed to scar-free regeneration. In contrast, here we show that the ligament supporting the jaw joint of adult zebrafish is capable of rapid and complete scar-free healing. Following surgical transection of the jaw joint ligament, we observe breakdown of ligament tissue adjacent to the cut sites, expansion of mesenchymal tissue within the wound site, and then remodeling of extracellular matrix (ECM) to a normal ligament morphology. Lineage tracing of mature ligamentocytes following transection shows that they dedifferentiate, undergo cell cycle re-entry, and contribute to the regenerated ligament. Single-cell RNA sequencing of the regenerating ligament reveals dynamic expression of EC

SUBMITTER: Anderson T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9915717 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature