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Many curious and unique adaptations can be seen throughout the animal kingdom, but perhaps one of the most intriguing is that of autotomy, whereby animals, primarily lizards, crustaceans and arthropods, sacrifice a part of the body or even sometimes a limb to enable escape when under attack. Many animals that possess the ability to autotomise often regenerate the missing body part, but others are unable to do so and the sacrificed area is permanently lost. Regeneration is valuable, and in mammals it is extremely rare, but a recent article published in Nature turns the tables on this.

The authors report that the African spiny mice Acomys kempi and Acomys percivali demonstrate the remarkable ability to shed skin, similarly to lizards, and to regenerate lost patches even after substantial injury. At the time of this post’s publication, Seifert et al.’s article has received six recommendations from F1000Prime Faculty Members in four different Faculties.

Study authors Seifert et al. examined live Acomys mice: in the field, they observed skin tearing in vigorously moving animals and found some animals even had missing tails, clearly demonstrating the ability to shed. Upon closer examination, the investigators found that the spiny mice possess structurally weak skin that has the ability to heal wounds – even deep ones – much faster and with higher contraction rates than other mouse species. In addition, when the mice were given ‘ear punch’ wounds, the authors observed almost complete regeneration – epidermis and dermis were present, as well as hair follicles, cartilage and adipose cells. Though muscle was also present, it was not as reliably reproduced.

This work is extremely valuable for a number of reasons, one being its demonstration of a characteristic we thought highly unlikely in a mammal. In their recommendation, Valerie Horsley and Ana Tadeu remark that this study “demonstrates the importance of how the use of non-traditional model systems might benefit the discovery of novel aspects of biology”. Furthermore, Jonathan Jones and Susan Hopkinson commented “the authors have uncovered a wonderful new model to assess the mechanisms of tissue regeneration in mammals”.

With regard to future applications of such a model, Gillian Westgate writes “the insights from this study may contribute to the development of regenerative therapies such as wound repair with reduced scarring and recovery of adnexal structures as well as regenerative treatments for hair loss.” It seems as though further observation of this intriguing little rodent may be a very valuable endeavour indeed.