Circa 2019
Scientists have identified two proteins that can partially stimulate growth in amputated toes in mice, a discovery that puts us one step closer to one day being able to replace amputated limbs in humans.
While bone growth has been achieved before, the new research demonstrates signs of joint growth as well — this shows a level of complexity we haven’t seen before. Both joints and bones are crucial if one is trying to bring back lost limbs.
Having previously regenerated bone in mice using the BMP2 protein, here the scientists added another to the mix: BMP9. When using the combination on mice with amputated toes, over 60 percent of the stump bones formed a layer of cartilage within three days. Without the proteins, the amputated toes would’ve healed over as normal.
Comments are closed.