Cell Interaction During Larval-To-Adult Muscle Remodeling in the Frog, Xenopus laevis

Abstract

Amphibian metamorphosis provides an excellent model to study remodeling of the body. This phenomenon is characterized by overall remodeling of the body plan (i.e. larval body) which was once established in early embryogenesis. The rationale for studying a cell-to-cell interaction during larval-to-adult muscle conversion in the amphibian is that such an analysis will provide important insights into the processes occurring during the differentiation (and/or adult organogenesis) of other stem cells such as mammalian embryonic and tissue (adult) stem cells.