Regeneration and pattern formation in planarians. II. and role of cell movements in blastema formation
In planarians, blastema cells do not divide, and growth blastema is thought to result from the steady wound epithelium, of undifferentiated cells produced in the stump. However, whether these cells come only sources or whether cells placed far from the wound can participate, after long-range migrations, in the still uncertain. To study this problem, we have parameters of the process of regeneration: cell growth; number of cells produced by mitosis in the wound (postblastema); and rates of movement undifferentiated cells using grafting procedures with chromosomal markers. The results show that: (1) cells area spread (move) at higher rates than cells placed (90–140_mday-1 versus 40–50_mday-1); (2) cells than 500_m from the wound boundary are hardly 5-day-old blastemata; and (3) the number of cells within a 200–300_m postblastema area around the wound explain, provided their rates of movement are taken increasing number of blastema cells. From this, it is blastema cells in planarians originate from local mitotic activity jointly with local cell movement postblastema area around the wound match the blastema cells during regeneration. The implications for blastema growth and pattern formation mechanisms