In certain contexts, voltage gradients and ion flows are known to regulate developmental patterning, but their precise role has remained ambiguous. Now,Michael Levin and colleagues report on the role of the V-ATPase H+pump in Xenopus tail regeneration. Cells in an uncut tail have normal membrane potential levels. However, following the amputation of the tail, the regeneration bud becomes depolarised(p. 1323). Shortly after, V-ATPase expression is triggered, leading to H+ flux and to the rapid repolarisation of these cells. The genetic or biochemically induced loss of V-ATPase activity prevents tail regeneration, but not as a consequence of apoptosis. Axon patterning and tail outgrowth are restored if H+flux is induced. This fascinating study shows that ion flows do not simply perform housekeeping duties and that, during Xenopus tail regeneration,H+ flux controls both cell number (through membrane voltage) and correct axon guidance (nerves are a known growth-factor source) into the regenerative bud. Ion pumps provide a tantalising target for future biomedical research into regeneration.
Turning up the voltage on regeneration
Turning up the voltage on regeneration. Development 1 April 2007; 134 (7): e703. doi:
Download citation file:
Advertisement
Cited by
Development Journal Meeting 2023
-DevMeeting.png?versionId=4659)
We are delighted to announce that our 2023 Journal Meeting ‘Unconventional and Emerging Experimental Organisms in Cell and Developmental Biology’ will be held from 17-20 September 2023 at Wotton House, Surrey, UK. Find out more and register here.
Call for papers: Metabolic and Nutritional Control of Development and Regeneration

We are welcoming submissions for our next special issue, which will focus on metabolic and nutritional control of development and regeneration. Submission deadline: 15 May 2023.
preLights 5th Birthday webinar

preLights, our preprint highlighting service, is celebrating its 5th birthday this year. To mark the occasion, join us online on 14 March 2023 at 16:00 GMT for a discussion, led by four preLights alumni, on how to identify and navigate the challenges and opportunities while shaping your career as an early-career researcher.
Transitions in development: Daniel Grimes

Daniel Grimes’s lab studies the consequences of ciliary mutations, including left-right patterning defects and scoliosis. We interviewed Daniel to find out more about his career path, his experience of becoming a group leader and the influence of Jurassic Park.
Preprints in Development
(update)-InPreprints.png?versionId=4659)
As part of our efforts to support the use of preprints and help curate the preprint literature, we are delighted to launch a new article type: ‘In preprints’. These pieces will discuss one or more recent preprints and place them in a broader context.