Biomedical sciences professor Matt Vickaryous says he doesn’t study geckos, despite having a laboratory full of them.
“I study regeneration and wound healing, and geckos are the model we use to study these phenomena,” he explains. A U of G faculty member since 2008, Vickaryous recently received a five-year grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Councilof Canada (NSERC) to continue his studies.
Geckos can regenerate tissue and heal without scarring, and Vickaryous wants to understand how they do it. A better understanding of this process could help researchers find ways to improve the healing process in humans.
In the wild, the gecko’s long tail can be released if a predator grabs it, allowing the gecko to escape. The tail breaks off along a fracture plane in the middle of a vertebrae, and the gecko appears to be able to determine where that break will be — whether it wants to give up a little bit of its tail or a lot of it. When the tail detaches, there is very little blood because the muscles around the blood vessels squeeze to stop the blood flow. The separated tail moves around all on its own, distracting the predator. Over the next month, a new tail spontaneously grows.
Vickaryous says there are two requirements for regeneration. One is that stem cells are present, which can develop into other cells and replace those that were lost. The other is that the site of damaged tissue — the wound environment — is permissive and allows those stem cells reproduce and grow new tissue.
“In addition to re-growing tails, wounds to the skin of geckos can regenerate perfectly,” he says. “Geckos can heal without forming scar tissue. We think this ability is due, in part, to the limited number of blood vessels that appear at the wound site following injury.” Most species develop lots of new blood vessels, says Vickaryous, and these numerous blood vessels gradually disappear and are replaced by scar tissue. In geckos, new blood vessels form but never in abundance. “How they are able to control blood vessel development at the wound site remains a mystery.”
Vickaryous hopes to learn how the gecko avoids scars and still heal rapidly without excessive fluid loss and infection.
Geckos are also able to regenerate their spinal cords, which extend the full length of the tail. When the tail regenerates, so does the spinal cord. “We have found a population of cells in the spinal cord that are normally quite dormant,” he says. “But when the tail detaches, they become activated and start to proliferate and produce new proteins.”
Vickaryous and his team have also discovered there are areas in the brain that respond to the tail coming off. Similar to the spinal cord cells, some cell populations in the brain become activated following tail loss. They are exploring the role of these cells in the brain with the goal of helping people with spinal cord injuries.
FAQs
One is that stem cells are present, which can develop into other cells and replace those that were lost. The other is that the site of damaged tissue — the wound environment — is permissive and allows those stem cells reproduce and grow new tissue.
How does a gecko regenerate? ›
Following the Gecko's tail autotomy, regeneration begins. When the tail is severed, a specific group of stem cells, most commonly known as radial glial cells, spring into action. The stem cells proliferate, and begin generating a variety of healing proteins that respond to the injury (M. Vickaryous, 2017).
Can geckos regrow skin? ›
Regenerating skin typically heals quicker than a similar-sized wound that scars. While it only takes a leopard gecko about 5 days to re-form the epidermis, this process can take between 1 and 2 weeks in humans [2].
How quickly do geckos heal? ›
Regeneration - Evolution - Development
These stages can be broadly organized into phases of wound healing (stages I-III) and regenerative outgrowth (IV-VII). Timeframe for regeneration is 25-30 days.
Do leopard geckos regenerate limbs? ›
Geckos can regenerate their limbs and tails (but we humans cannot!). However, geckos cannot regenerate everything. Regeneration in geckos follows a similar pattern to how geckos grow and develop – how the limbs and tails are created when a baby gecko is forming!
How do lizards regenerate body parts? ›
Regrowth of amputated skeletal elements involves blastema-based regeneration. The term 'blastema' refers to a mass of cells that act as progenitors for regenerated tissues. The capacity to form blastemas decreases dramatically with age, and lizards are the only amniotes capable of blastema-based regeneration as adults.
Can geckos heal themselves? ›
Geckos can regenerate tissue and heal without scarring, and Vickaryous wants to understand how they do it. A better understanding of this process could help researchers find ways to improve the healing process in humans.
How do lizards heal themselves? ›
Lizards are among the only higher vertebrates capable of regenerating cartilage that does not ossify and are the closest relatives to mammals that can regenerate an appendage with multiple tissue types, including cartilage. Humans, by contrast, cannot repair cartilage that has been damaged once they reach adulthood.
Do lizards get scars? ›
Scars are the result of our cells' actions to heal broken tissue. Different animals, such as lizards, reindeer, and the spiny mouse, can heal without scarring because they perform something call regenerative healing.
Can lizards regenerate their skin? ›
(B) Skin Regeneration in Lizards–In contrast, lizards form few blood vessels following injury. These vessels do have support cells and thus, are not leaky. The structures of the skin are regenerated following injury. sound like science fiction, but it happens to animals in the wild all the time.
Pet geckos generally thrive in captivity compared to their wild counterparts. On average, they have a lifespan of 10 to 20 years. Interestingly, female geckos in captivity tend to have slightly shorter lifespans than males. This is because they sometimes lay infertile eggs, even without mating with a male.
Do geckos need to soak? ›
Offer fresh water daily in a water dish large enough for the lizard to soak its entire body in. Additional soaks in shallow warm water for 15-20 minutes 2-3 times a week are helpful, especially during a shed.
Does it hurt when geckos lose their tail? ›
Some species of geckos, including leopard geckos and day geckos, have a defense mechanism that allows them to "drop" their tails when they feel threatened. This tail loss tends to be more common in younger geckos. Fortunately, gecko tail loss is a natural phenomenon, and your pet should come through it just fine.
What happens when a gecko sheds its skin? ›
It may seem unusual to see your pet losing its skin, but it is totally normal in the case of a leopard gecko. As their bodies grow, they shed their old skin and whereas with a snake you may see it all come off in one piece and be left in the enclosure, with a Gecko it comes off in smaller pieces and is eaten!
How long does gecko regeneration take? ›
The reason why a gecko can't lose its tail multiple times in a year is because it takes time for the tail to regenerate. You cannot expect it to lose its tail in the morning and regenerate it the next day. It takes about 6 months to 1 year for the tail to regenerate.
Do geckos regrow teeth? ›
Many reptiles are able to continuously replace their teeth through life, an ability attributed to the existence of epithelial stem cells. Tooth replacement occurs in a spatially and temporally regulated manner, suggesting the involvement of diffusible factors, potentially over long distances.
What does a gecko do when it sheds its skin? ›
If the enclosure has rocks or climbing accessories, you may notice your Gecko starts to rub itself on them to get the process started. You will start to see the skin flake from the head and gradually appear to flake elsewhere. During this time, your Gecko will start to tug at the old skin and in most cases eat it.
Can a gecko live without its tail? ›
Some species of geckos, including leopard geckos and day geckos, have a defense mechanism that allows them to "drop" their tails when they feel threatened. This tail loss tends to be more common in younger geckos. Fortunately, gecko tail loss is a natural phenomenon, and your pet should come through it just fine.
What makes a lizard's tail grow back? ›
Tail regrowth involved distinct locations for different phagocytes. Factors secreted by certain phagocytes proved critical for signaling fibroblasts to build new cartilage. One particular type of phagocyte, called a septoclast, was especially important for regrowing lizard tails.
Photo by Matt Reinbold used under CC BY 2.0.
