Xenopus tadpoles have the ability to regenerate their tails upon amputation. Although some of the molecular and cellular mechanisms that globally regulate tail regeneration have been characterised, tissue-specific response to injury remains poorly understood. Using a combination of bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing on isolated spinal cords before and after amputation, we identify a number of genes specifically expressed in the spinal cord during regeneration. We show that Foxm1, a transcription factor known to promote proliferation, is essential for spinal cord regeneration. Surprisingly, Foxm1 does not control the cell cycle length of neural progenitors but regulates their fate after division. In foxm1^−/− tadpoles, we observe a reduction in the number of neurons in the regenerating spinal cord, suggesting that neuronal differentiation is necessary for the regenerative process. Altogether, our data uncover a spinal cord-specific response to injury and reveal a new role for neuronal differentiation during regeneration.

中文翻译：

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Foxm1 在脊髓再生过程中调节神经祖细胞的命运

非洲爪蟾蝌蚪有能力在截肢后再生它们的尾巴。尽管已经表征了全局调节尾部再生的一些分子和细胞机制，但对损伤的组织特异性反应仍然知之甚少。在截肢前后对分离的脊髓使用批量和单细胞 RNA 测序的组合，我们确定了一些在再生过程中在脊髓中特异性表达的基因。我们表明 Foxm1，一种已知促进增殖的转录因子，对脊髓再生至关重要。令人惊讶的是，Foxm1 不控制神经祖细胞的细胞周期长度，而是调节它们分裂后的命运。在foxm1 ^-/-蝌蚪，我们观察到再生脊髓中神经元数量的减少，这表明神经元分化对于再生过程是必要的。总之，我们的数据揭示了脊髓对损伤的特异性反应，并揭示了再生过程中神经元分化的新作用。