Path followed:
- Is the fault in the components that perform any physical action?
Answer: Yes
- Is the fault in components that move?
Answer: Yes
- Is the fault in components that make the mechanism move?
Answer: Yes
- Is the faulty component designed to move the mechanism around?
Answer: No
- Is the faulty component a joint?
Answer: No
- Is the faulty component needed for stability?
Answer: Yes
- Does any material need to be removed after regeneration?
Answer: Yes
99) House mouse, Mus musculus
House mice are often found near civilizations where they can acquire an easy meal (Musser et al.). The adult mouse has the capability to regenerate the tip of their digits on their paws.
Soon after the digit has been amputated the epithelial cells surrounding the wound site undergo proliferation. The epithelial cells will help reform the layer of skin to cover the wounded area which doesn’t fully reform until the bone has been regenerated. A blastema will also form over the wound which is comprised of vimentin, mesenchymal markers, epithelial and endothelial cells (Fernando et al.). Vimentin is a protein used to form the intermediate filaments in the digit (Satelli et al.). The mesenechymal markers help the undifferentiated mesenchymal cells to redifferentiate into specific cells to form structures in the digit. The mesechymal cells are used to form connective tissues with osteoblasts within the layers of the tissue (Tamarkin). As the osteoblasts mature they form the bones extracellular matrix as a spongy bone (Tamarkin). The osteoblasts mature into osteocytes and which can form the periosteum around the outside of the spongy bone. Once the bone is reformed osteoclasts start to proliferate and degrade the stump bone to allow the wound epidermis to form over the distal bone tip (Tamarkin). Endothelial cells also proliferate to form the muscle tissue surrounding the bone. Once all of the structures have been regenerated the blastema will disintegrate and the cells will go back into the quiescent stage of mitosis.
Musser, G., Amori, G., Hutterer, R., Kry_tufek, B., Yigit, N. & Mitsain, G. 2008. Mus musculus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. Web. 27 Dec. 2014.
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/13972/0
Fernando, W. A., E. Leininger, J. Simkin, N. Li, C. A. Malcom, S. Sathyamoorthi, M. Han, and K. Muneoka. “Wound Healing and Blastema Formation in Regenerating Digit Tips of Adult Mice.” Developmental Biology 350.2 (2011): 301-10. NCBI. Web. 27 Dec. 2014.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21145316
Satelli, Arun, and Shulin Li. “Vimentin as a Potential Molecular Target in Cancer Therapy Or Vimentin, an Overview and Its Potential as a Molecular Target for Cancer Therapy.” Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 68.18 (2011): 3033-046. NCBI. Web. 27 Dec. 2014.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3162105/
Tamarkin, Dawn A. “Bone Development and Growth.” Bone Development and Growth. Springfield Technical Community College, 2011. Web. 27 Dec. 2014.
http://faculty.stcc.edu/AandP/AP/AP1pages/Units5to9/bone/bonedev.htm