Several studies have suggested an important role of the nervous system on planarian regeneration. However, the exact nature of such influence remains to be elucidated. Our laboratory is interested in studying how neural-derived factors might control different aspects of stem cell and/or committed precursor’s biology, such as proliferation, differentiation and migration. Based on previous observations several neurotransmitters and growth factors appear as good candidates. Taking advantage of current genomic tools we have identified a large number of planarian homologues of the putative receptors for many of those molecules. RNAi-based functional analyses should help determining their function in regulating cell proliferation and differentiation in these amazing animals.

Web site http://www.ub.edu/planaria

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