This article was originally field & stream.
Deer antlers are one of the fastest growing appendages in the animal kingdom. At the peak of the spring growth cycle, deer headgear, which grows at a rate of 3/4 inch per day, is fully grown in just a few months. Scientists at Northwest University of Technology in Xi’an, China, have been looking for a way to take advantage of the rapid growth rate of horn tissue by transplanting stem cells harvested from sika deer horns into the foreheads of laboratory mice. Their experiments yielded some odd-looking rodents with small growths on their heads. Nature It’s called a “mini corner”.according to research paper The results, announced on February 24, 2023, may one day be applied to heal bone damage and regenerate lost limbs.
The Xi’an researchers began by investigating the cellular architecture and gene expression dynamics of horn tissue through different stages of development. Once they had isolated the stem cell population with the highest potential for regenerative effects, they began inserting those cells directly into the heads of test mice.
They believe that the most effective cell transplantation is corner of the hut Within 5 days. These cells were harvested from the antler stalk where the base of the horn connects to the skull plate, cultured in Petri dishes, and implanted between the ears of hairless her mice. Within 45 days of his transplant, the mice began to develop their own “horn-like” structures.
This isn’t the first time Chinese scientists have grown something resembling deer horns on the heads of mice. In a similar study published in Journal of Regenerative Biology and Medicine In August 2020, researchers surgically removed horn tissue from live deer, processed the antler material using something called a cryogenic freezer mill, and then inserted it into nude mice. In that study, mice sprouted visible antler-like projections on their heads with similar results.
Read the following: Florida researchers tracked down and killed giant Burmese python after eating collared possum
The researchers behind the more recent study say their work expands the catalog of mammalian stem cell systems known to science. “Our results suggest that deer have clinical application in bone repair,” the authors wrote in the study’s conclusion. “Beyond that, induction of human cells [anlter-like] The cells have potential use in regenerative medicine for skeletal injury and limb regeneration. “
