Meningeal Foam Cells and Ependymal Cells in Axolotl Spinal Cord Regeneration.

A previously unreported population of foam cells (foamy macrophages) accumulates in the invasive fibrotic meninges during gap regeneration of transected adult Axolotl spinal cord (salamander ) and may act beneficially. Multinucleated giant cells (MNGCs) also occurred in the fibrotic meninges. Actin-label localization and transmission electron microscopy showed characteristic foam cell and MNGC podosome and ruffled border-containing sealing ring structures involved in substratum attachment, with characteristic intermediate filament accumulations surrounding nuclei.

Musashi and Plasticity of and Axolotl Spinal Cord Ependymal Cells.

The differentiated state of spinal cord ependymal cells in regeneration-competent amphibians varies between a constitutively active state in what is essentially a developing organism, the tadpole of the frog , and a quiescent, activatable state in a slowly growing adult salamander , the Axolotl. Ependymal cells are epithelial in intact spinal cord of all vertebrates. After transection, body region ependymal epithelium in both and the Axolotl disorganizes for regenerative outgrowth (gap replacement).