Texas A&M two-step treatment regrows bone, joints, ligaments and tendons in mice after amputation
Researchers at Texas A&M, publishing in Nature Communications, report a two-step treatment that redirects mammalian healing away from scarring and toward regrowth. In mice, the sequential FGF2 then BMP2 approach regrew bone, joints, ligaments and tendons after digit amputation, using cells already present at the wound rather than added stem cells. One growth factor is already approved for medical use and the other is in human trials; the work remains early and limited to animals.
For generations the inability to regrow lost body parts was seen as a fixed limit of mammals, which heal by forming scar tissue while animals like salamanders build a blastema that becomes new tissue. A Texas A&M team, publishing in Nature Communications, found a way to push mammal cells down that second path. Their two-step treatment applies the growth factor FGF2 after the wound has closed, prompting a blastema-like structure, then several days later applies BMP2 to signal those cells to start building. In mice the approach regrew bone, joints, ligaments and tendons after digit amputation, though the new structures were not perfect copies. No outside stem cells were needed: the cells were already present and simply redirected away from scarring. One growth factor is already approved for medical use and the other is in human trials. The work is early but gives researchers a model for studying how far mammalian regeneration can be pushed.