Stimulation of limb regeneration in the lizard Xantusia vigilis by means of ependymal implants

The experiments reported in this paper demonstrate that ependymal cells can stimulate a regenerative outgrowth when implanted into the limb of a lizard. Simple limb amputation, amputation followed by a sham operation, and amputation followed by the implantation of a cartilage tube from a tail regenerate were ineffective in causing the hind limbs of Xantusia vigilis to regenerate. However, amputation followed by the implantation of a cartilage tube containing ependyma caused regenerative outgrowths in 82% of the treated limbs. These results show that ependymal cells, in addition to initiating tail regeneration in their normal location, can when transplanted to the limb, initiate limb regeneration.