Exploring Axolotl Regeneration: Bioinformatic Insights into the Wnt/ß-Catenin Pathway and ProteinVitamin Interactions for Advancing Regenerative Medicine


Aktaş E., Koç B. B., Özdemir Özgentürk N.

6th International Eurasian Conference on Biological and Chemical Sciences, Ankara, Turkey, 11 - 13 October 2023, pp.1489

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Summary Text
  • City: Ankara
  • Country: Turkey
  • Page Numbers: pp.1489
  • Yıldız Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Regenerative medicine aims to address disorders caused by infections, inflammation, traumatic injury, and accidents by repairing tissue damage. The Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) serves as a main model organism for regenerative medicine. These species can regenerate all their organs and tissues in the case of injury or amputation without developing any sort of scar. In our study, we aim to unlock the mystery of this organism's extraordinary ability to divide by working at in-silico and molecular levels. We used preliminary bioassays to determine which of the proteins that constitute neural regeneration capabilities are more favorable. We identified that the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway is one of the most prominent pathways regulating proliferation in Mexican axolotls and that the Wnt-1 is a major functional protein in this pathway. Bioinformatics tools such as Phyre2, HDOCK, and DisEMBL have been used to comprehensively investigate the components of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway synthesized from the apical epidermal cover and their relationship with neural regeneration. Analyses have shown that interactions of Wnt-1 proteins with various vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin E can affect this signaling pathway. In this respect, proteinvitamin binding complexes may be important not only in terms of docking scores but also in terms of their effects on signaling pathways. In conclusion, with the increasing relevance of bioinformatics studies, it is possible to understand the mechanism of regeneration more rapidly by developing studies at the molecular level. We believe that our study will contribute to regenerative medicine studies and may provide a different perspective on possible treatment methods.