Xenopus, a Model to Study Wound Healing and Regeneration: Experimental Approaches

Abstract

Xenopus has been widely used as a model organism to study wound healing and regeneration. During early development and at tadpole stages, Xenopus is a quick healer and is able to regenerate multiple complex organs—abilities that decrease with the progression of metamorphosis. This unique capacity leads us to question which mechanisms allow and direct regeneration at stages before the beginning of metamorphosis and which ones are responsible for the loss of regenerative capacities during later stages. Xenopus is an ideal model to study regeneration and has contributed to the understanding of morphological, cellular, and molecular mechanisms involved in these processes. Nevertheless, there is still much to learn. Here we provide an overview on using Xenopus as a model organism to study regeneration and introduce protocols that can be used for studying wound healing and regeneration at multiple levels, thus enhancing our understanding of these phenomena.