The history of scientific research in adult newts spans more than two centuries. Long before the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1858), Spallanzani first reported in Prodromo (1768) the ability of newt and salamander tissues to regenerate. Classical experiments in the 18th and 19th centuries first documented limb and lens regeneration in salamanders, establishing urodele amphibians as important models in regenerative biology (Morgan, 1901). In the 20th century, urodele amphibians, including newts, became central to discoveries involving blastema formation, nerve dependence, positional memory, cellular dedifferentiation, and transdifferentiation (Stocum, 2017). Moving forward, modern molecular and genomic technologies are now transforming urodele amphibians into emerging models for studying regeneration at unprecedented resolution.
The Laboratory of Regenerative Physiology is dedicated to uncovering the molecular mechanisms that enable adult newt regeneration. Our research focuses on the remarkable regenerative capacity of the Japanese fire-bellied newt, *Cynops pyrrhogaster*, an organism capable of regenerating complex tissues and organs throughout its adult life, including the brain, spinal cord, retina, lens, heart, peripheral nerves, jaws, and complete limbs. By investigating how regeneration is naturally achieved in the newt, we aim to identify fundamental mechanisms that can inspire transformative medical strategies for human degenerative disease, fibrosis, and trauma.
Our vision is to drive frontier research in Regenerative Medicine and Physiology and to make discoveries that can improve human health. We seek not only to describe regeneration, but to understand how mature cells re-enter developmental-like programs, how tissues avoid fibrosis, and how positional information is restored for re-patterning tissue.
Our laboratory employs multidisciplinary approaches to decipher the biology of newt regeneration, from molecular enhancers and epigenetic regulation to tissue architecture and organismal physiology. We integrate transgenic technologies, single-cell analysis, advanced imaging, bioinformatics, and comparative physiology with the mouse. Through this integrative strategy, we aim to reveal why certain vertebrates regenerate while others heal through scarring or tissue degeneration. Our long-term goal is to translate biological principles of newt regeneration into therapeutic concepts relevant to human medicine. Degenerative diseases (Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and Multiple Sclerosis), traumatic injuries, fibrosis, retinal disorders, and organ failure remain major unsolved challenges in healthcare (to name a few). By understanding how adult newts naturally reactivate developmental pathways while suppressing pathological scarring, we aim to contribute foundational knowledge toward future regenerative therapies, bioengineered tissues, and organoid research.