Wearable bioreactor heralds leap for regenerative medicine

Scientists and engineers at Tufts University in Massachusetts have used a wearable bioreactor to promote limb regrowth in a frog.

While many frogs and lizards can naturally regenerate limbs, the adult African clawed frog at the centre of this research cannot. However, using a wearable device that delivered the hormone progesterone over a 24 hour period led to the partial regrowth of the frog’s hind leg over the ensuing nine months. It is hoped that the work, which appears in Cell Reports, could form the basis for future research into human limb regrowth.

“We looked at progesterone because it showed promise for promoting nerve repair and regeneration,” said Celia Herrera-Rincon, a post-doctoral fellow at Tufts and lead author of the study. “It also modulates the immune response to promote healing, and triggers the re-growth of blood vessels and bone.