Evidence of interactions among apoptosis, cell proliferation, and dedifferentiation in the rudiment during whole-organ intestinal regeneration in the sea cucumber.

Sea cucumbers have an extraordinary regenerative capability. Under stressful conditions, Holothuria glaberrima can eviscerate their internal organs, including the digestive tract. From the mesentery, a rudiment grows and gives rise to a new intestine within a few weeks. In the last decades, the cellular events that occur during intestinal regeneration have been characterized, including apoptosis, cell proliferation, and muscle cell dedifferentiation. Nevertheless, their contribution to the formation and early growth of the rudiment is still unknown. Furthermore, these cellular events' relationship and potential interdependence remain a mystery. Using modulators to inhibit apoptosis and cell proliferation, we tested whether rudiment growth or other regenerative cellular events like muscle cell dedifferentiation were affected. We found that inhibition of apoptosis by zVAD and cell proliferation by aphidicolin and mitomycin did not affect the overall size of the rudiment seven days post-evisceration (7-dpe). Interestingly, animals treated with aphidicolin showed higher levels of muscle cell dedifferentiation in the distal mesentery, which could act as a compensatory mechanism. On the other hand, inhibition of apoptosis led to a decrease in cell proliferation in the rudiment and a delay in the spatiotemporal progression of muscle cell dedifferentiation throughout the rudiment-mesentery structure. Our findings suggest that neither apoptosis nor cell proliferation significantly contributes to early rudiment growth during intestinal regeneration in the sea cucumber. Nevertheless, apoptosis may play an essential role in modulating cell proliferation in the rudiment (a process known as apoptosis-induced proliferation) and the timing for the progression of muscle cell dedifferentiation. These findings provide new insights into the role and relationship of cellular events during intestinal regeneration in an emerging regeneration model.

Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway regulates cell proliferation but not muscle dedifferentiation nor apoptosis during sea cucumber intestinal regeneration.

Regeneration is a key developmental process by which organisms recover vital tissue and organ components following injury or disease. A growing interest is focused on the elucidation and characterization of the molecular mechanisms involved in these regenerative processes. We have now analyzed the possible role of the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway on the regeneration of the intestine in the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima. For this we have studied the expression in vivo of Wnt-associated genes and have implemented the use of Dicer-substrate interference RNA (DsiRNA) to knockdown the expression of ß-catenin transcript on gut rudiment explants. Neither cell dedifferentiation nor apoptosis were affected by the reduction of ß-catenin transcripts in the gut rudiment explants. Yet, the number of proliferating cells decreased significantly following the interference, suggesting that the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway plays a significant role in cell proliferation, but not in cell dedifferentiation nor apoptosis during the regeneration of the intestine. The development of the in vitro RNAi protocol is a significant step in analyzing specific gene functions involved in echinoderm regeneration.

The Stress Response of the Holothurian Central Nervous System: A Transcriptomic Analysis.

Injury to the central nervous system (CNS) results in permanent damage and lack of function in most vertebrate animals, due to their limited regenerative capacities. In contrast, echinoderms can fully regenerate their radial nerve cord (RNC) following transection, with little to no scarring. Investigators have associated the regenerative capacity of some organisms to the stress response and inflammation produced by the injury. Here, we explore the gene activation profile of the stressed holothurian CNS. To do this, we performed RNA sequencing on isolated RNC explants submitted to the stress of transection and enzyme dissection and compared them with explants kept in culture for 3 days following dissection. We describe stress-associated genes, including members of heat-shock families, ubiquitin-related pathways, transposons, and apoptosis that were differentially expressed. Surprisingly, the stress response does not induce apoptosis in this system. Other genes associated with stress in other animal models, such as hero proteins and those associated with the integrated stress response, were not found to be differentially expressed either. Our results provide a new viewpoint on the stress response in the nervous system of an organism with amazing regenerative capacities. This is the first step in deciphering the molecular processes that allow echinoderms to undergo fully functional CNS regeneration, and also provides a comparative view of the stress response in other organisms.

The mesentery as the epicenter for intestinal regeneration.

The mesentery, a newly minted organ, plays various anatomical and physiological roles during animal development. In echinoderms, and particularly in members of the class Holothuroidea (sea cucumbers) the mesentery plays an additional unique role: it is crucial for the process of intestinal regeneration. In these organisms, a complete intestine can form from cells that originate in the mesentery. In this review, we focus on what is known about the changes that take place in the mesentery and what has been documented on the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved. We describe how the events that unfold in the mesentery result in the formation of a new intestine.

Insights into intestinal regeneration signaling mechanisms.

The cellular mechanisms underlying the amazing ability of sea cucumbers to regenerate their autotomized intestines have been widely described by us and others. However, the signaling pathways that control these mechanisms are unknown. Previous studies have shown that Wnt homologs are upregulated during early intestinal regenerative stages, suggesting that the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway is active during this process. Here, we used small molecules, putative disruptors of the Wnt pathway, to determine the potential role of the canonical Wnt pathway on intestine regeneration in the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima. We evaluated their effects in vivo by using histological analyses for cell dedifferentiation, cell proliferation and apoptosis. We found that iCRT14, an alleged Wnt pathway inhibitor, decreased the size of the regenerating intestine, while LiCl, a presumed Wnt pathway activator, increased its size. The possible cellular mechanisms by which signaling pathway disruptors affect the gut rudiment size were further studied in vitro, using cultures of tissue explants and additional pharmacological agents. Among the tested signaling activators, those that act through GSK-3 inhibition, LiCl, 1-Azakenpaullone, and CHIR99021 were found to increase muscle cell dedifferentiation, while the inhibitor iCRT14 blocked cell dedifferentiation. Differently, cell proliferation was reduced by all GSK-3 inhibitors, as well as by iCRT14 and C59, which interferes with Wnt ligand secretion. The in vivo temporal and spatial pattern of ß-catenin activity was determined using an antibody against phosphorylated ß-catenin and shown to correlate with cell proliferative activity. In vitro treatment using C59 decreased the number of cells immunostained for nuclear phosphorylated ß-catenin. Our results showed that the cell dedifferentiation observed during intestinal regeneration can be decoupled from the cell proliferation event and that these cellular processes can be modulated by particular signaling pathway inhibitors and activators. These results open the door for future studies where the cellular signaling pathways involved at each regeneration stage can be determined.

The nervous system component of the mesentery of the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima in normal and regenerating animals.

The mesenterial tissues play important roles in the interactions between the viscera and the rest of the organism. Among these roles, they serve as the physical substrate for nerves connecting the visceral nervous components to the central nervous system. Although the mesenterial nervous system component has been described in vertebrates, particularly in mammals, a description in other deuterostomes is lacking. Using immunohistochemistry in tissue sections and whole mounts, we describe here the nervous component of the intestinal mesentery in the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima. This echinoderm has the ability to regenerate its internal organs in a process that depends on the mesentery. Therefore, we have also explored changes in the mesenterial nervous component during intestinal regeneration. Extensive fiber bundles with associated neurons are found in the mesothelial layer, extending from the body wall to the intestine. Neuron-like cells are also found within a plexus in the connective tissue layer. We also show that most of the cells and nerve fibers within the mesentery remain during the regenerative process, with only minor changes: a general disorganization of the fiber bundles and a retraction of nerve fibers near the tip of the mesentery during the first days of regeneration. Our results provide a basic description of mesenterial nervous component that can be of importance for comparative studies as well as for the analyses of visceral regeneration.

Enteroendocrine cells in the Echinodermata.

Enteroendocrine cells are endocrine-like cells found in the luminal epithelia of the digestive tract. These cells have been described in most animal phyla. In echinoderms, the cells have been described mainly in organisms of the class Asteroidea (sea stars) and Holothuroidea (sea cucumbers). Here, we describe what is known about the enteroendocrine cells of the Echinodermata, including the cell types, their distribution in the digestive tract, their neuropeptide content and their regeneration and compare them to what has been found in other animal species, mainly in vertebrates. We also discuss the newly described view of enteroendocrine cells as chemical sensors of the intestinal lumen and provide some histological evidence that similar functions might be found within the echinoderms. Finally, we describe the temporal regeneration of the enteroendocrine cells in the holothurian intestine.

Melanotransferrin: New Homolog Genes and Their Differential Expression during Intestinal Regeneration in the Sea Cucumber Holothuria glaberrima.

Melanotransferrin (MTf) is a protein associated with oncogenetic, developmental, and immune processes which function remains unclear. The MTf gene has been reported in numerous vertebrate and invertebrate species, including echinoderms. We now report the finding of four different MTfs in the transcriptome of the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima. Sequence studies and phylogenetic analyses were done to ascertain the similarities among the putative proteins and their relationship with other transferrin family members. The genes were shown to be differentially expressed in various holothurian organs and to respond differently when the animals were challenged with the immune system activator lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Moreover, the four genes were found to be highly overexpressed during the early stages of intestinal regeneration. The finding of four different genes in the holothurian is particularly surprising, because only one MTf gene has been reported in all other animal species sequenced to date. This finding, combined with the increase expression during intestinal regeneration, suggests a new possible function of MTf in organ regenerative processes.

Expression of stem cell factors in the adult sea cucumber digestive tube.

Homeostatic cell turnover has been extensively characterized in mammals. In their adult tissues, lost or aging differentiated cells are replenished by a self-renewing cohort of stem cells. The stem cells have been particularly well studied in the intestine and are clearly identified by the expression of marker genes including Lgr5 and Bmi1. It is, however, unknown if the established principles of tissue renewal learned from mammals would be operating in non-mammalian systems. Here, we study homeostatic cell turnover in the sea cucumber digestive tube, the organ with high tissue plasticity even in adult animals. Both the luminal epithelium and mesothelium express orthologs of mammalian Lgr5 and Bmi1. However, unlike in mammals, there is no segregation of these positively labeled cells to specific regions in the luminal epithelium, where most of the cell proliferation would take place. In the mesothelium, the cells expressing the stem cell markers are tentatively identified as peritoneocytes. There are significant differences among the five anatomical gut regions in cell renewal dynamics and stem factor expression. The cloaca differs from the rest of the digestive tube as the region with the highest expression of the Lgr5 ortholog, lowest level of Bmi1 and the longest retention of BrdU-labeled cells.

Inhibition of cell proliferation does not slow down echinoderm neural regeneration.

BACKGROUND: Regeneration of the damaged central nervous system is one of the most interesting post-embryonic developmental phenomena. Two distinct cellular events have been implicated in supplying regenerative neurogenesis with cellular material - generation of new cells through cell proliferation and recruitment of already existing cells through cell migration. The relative contribution and importance of these two mechanisms is often unknown. METHODS: Here, we use the regenerating radial nerve cord (RNC) of the echinoderm Holothuria glaberrima as a model of extensive post-traumatic neurogenesis in the deuterostome central nervous system. To uncouple the effects of cell proliferation from those of cell migration, we treated regenerating animals with aphidicolin, a specific inhibitor of S-phase DNA replication. To monitor the effect of aphidicolin on DNA synthesis, we used BrdU immunocytochemistry. The specific radial glial marker ERG1 was used to label the regenerating RNC. Cell migration was tracked with vital staining with the lipophilic dye DiI. RESULTS: Aphidicolin treatment resulted in a significant 2.1-fold decrease in cell proliferation. In spite of this, the regenerating RNC in the treated animals did not differ in histological architecture, size and cell number from its counterpart in the control vehicle-treated animals. DiI labeling showed extensive cell migration in the RNC. Some cells migrated from as far as 2 mm away from the injury plane to contribute to the neural outgrowth. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that inhibition of cell division in the regenerating RNC of H. glaberrima is compensated for by recruitment of cells, which migrate into the RNC outgrowth from deeper regions of the neuroepithelium. Neural regeneration in echinoderms is thus a highly regulative developmental phenomenon, in which the size of the cell pool can be controlled either by cell proliferation or cell migration, and the latter can neutralize perturbations in the former.

Myc regulates programmed cell death and radial glia dedifferentiation after neural injury in an echinoderm.

BACKGROUND: Adult echinoderms can completely regenerate major parts of their central nervous system even after severe injuries. Even though this capacity has long been known, the molecular mechanisms that drive fast and complete regeneration in these animals have remained uninvestigated. The major obstacle for understanding these molecular pathways has been the lack of functional genomic studies on regenerating adult echinoderms. RESULTS: Here, we employ RNA interference-mediated gene knockdown to characterize the role of Myc during the early (first 48 hours) post-injury response in the radial nerve cord of the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima. Our previous experiments identified Myc as the only pluripotency-associated factor, whose expression significantly increased in the wounded CNS. The specific function(s) of this gene, however, remained unknown. Here we demonstrate that knockdown of Myc inhibits dedifferentiation of radial glia and programmed cell death, the two most prominent cellular events that take place in the regenerating sea cucumber nervous system shortly after injury. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we show that Myc overexpression is required for proper dedifferentiation of radial glial cells and for triggering the programmed cell death in the vicinity of the injury. Myc is thus the first transcription factor, whose functional role has been experimentally established in echinoderm regeneration.

Expression of pluripotency factors in echinoderm regeneration.

Cell dedifferentiation is an integral component of post-traumatic regeneration in echinoderms. As dedifferentiated cells become multipotent, we asked if this spontaneous broadening of developmental potential is associated with the action of the same pluripotency factors (known as Yamanaka factors) that were used to induce pluripotency in specialized mammalian cells. In this study, we investigate the expression of orthologs of the four Yamanaka factors in regeneration of two different organs, the radial nerve cord and the digestive tube, in the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima. All four pluripotency factors are expressed in uninjured animals, although their expression domains do not always overlap. In regeneration, the expression levels of the four genes were not regulated in a coordinated way, but instead showed different dynamics for individual genes and also were different between the radial nerve and the gut. SoxB1, the ortholog of the mammalian Sox2, was drastically downregulated in the regenerating intestine, suggesting that this factor is not required for dedifferentiation/regeneration in this organ. On the other hand, during the early post-injury stage, Myc, the sea cucumber ortholog of c-Myc, was significantly upregulated in both the intestine and the radial nerve cord and is therefore hypothesized to play a central role in dedifferentiation/regeneration of various tissue types.

Transcriptomic changes during regeneration of the central nervous system in an echinoderm.

BACKGROUND: Echinoderms are emerging as important models in regenerative biology. Significant amount of data are available on cellular mechanisms of post-traumatic repair in these animals, whereas studies of gene expression are rare. In this study, we employ high-throughput sequencing to analyze the transcriptome of the normal and regenerating radial nerve cord (a homolog of the chordate neural tube), in the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima. RESULTS: Our de novo assembly yielded 70,173 contigs, of which 24,324 showed significant similarity to known protein-coding sequences. Expression profiling revealed large-scale changes in gene expression (4,023 and 3,257 up-regulated and down-regulated transcripts, respectively) associated with regeneration. Functional analysis of sets of differentially expressed genes suggested that among the most extensively over-represented pathways were those involved in the extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and ECM-cell interactions, indicating a key role of the ECM in regeneration. We also searched the sea cucumber transcriptome for homologs of factors known to be involved in acquisition and/or control of pluripotency. We identified eleven genes that were expressed both in the normal and regenerating tissues. Of these, only Myc was present at significantly higher levels in regeneration, whereas the expression of Bmi-1 was significantly reduced. We also sought to get insight into which transcription factors may operate at the top of the regulatory hierarchy to control gene expression in regeneration. Our analysis yielded eleven putative transcription factors, which constitute good candidates for further functional studies. The identified candidate transcription factors included not only known regeneration-related genes, but also factors not previously implicated as regulators of post-traumatic tissue regrowth. Functional annotation also suggested that one of the possible adaptations contributing to fast and efficient neural regeneration in echinoderms may be related to suppression of excitotoxicity. CONCLUSIONS: Our transcriptomic analysis corroborates existing data on cellular mechanisms implicated in regeneration in sea cucumbers. More importantly, however, it also illuminates new aspects of echinoderm regeneration, which have been scarcely studied or overlooked altogether. The most significant outcome of the present work is that it lays out a roadmap for future studies of regulatory mechanisms by providing a list of key candidate genes for functional analysis.

Radial glial cells play a key role in echinoderm neural regeneration.

BACKGROUND: Unlike the mammalian central nervous system (CNS), the CNS of echinoderms is capable of fast and efficient regeneration following injury and constitutes one of the most promising model systems that can provide important insights into evolution of the cellular and molecular events involved in neural repair in deuterostomes. So far, the cellular mechanisms of neural regeneration in echinoderm remained obscure. In this study we show that radial glial cells are the main source of new cells in the regenerating radial nerve cord in these animals. RESULTS: We demonstrate that radial glial cells of the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima react to injury by dedifferentiation. Both glia and neurons undergo programmed cell death in the lesioned CNS, but it is the dedifferentiated glial subpopulation in the vicinity of the injury that accounts for the vast majority of cell divisions. Glial outgrowth leads to formation of a tubular scaffold at the growing tip, which is later populated by neural elements. Most importantly, radial glial cells themselves give rise to new neurons. At least some of the newly produced neurons survive for more than 4 months and express neuronal markers typical of the mature echinoderm CNS. CONCLUSIONS: A hypothesis is formulated that CNS regeneration via activation of radial glial cells may represent a common capacity of the Deuterostomia, which is not invoked spontaneously in higher vertebrates, whose adult CNS does not retain radial glial cells. Potential implications for biomedical research aimed at finding the cure for human CNS injuries are discussed.

Single-cell RNA sequencing of the holothurian regenerating intestine reveals the pluripotency of the coelomic epithelium.

In holothurians, the regenerative process following evisceration involves the development of a "rudiment" or "anlage" at the injured end of the mesentery. This regenerating anlage plays a pivotal role in the formation of a new intestine. Despite its significance, our understanding of the molecular characteristics inherent to the constituent cells of this structure has remained limited. To address this gap, we employed state-of-the-art scRNA-seq and HCR-FISH analyses to discern the distinct cellular populations associated with the regeneration anlage. Through this approach, we successfully identified thirteen distinct cell clusters. Among these, two clusters exhibit characteristics consistent with putative mesenchymal cells, while another four show features akin to coelomocyte cell populations. The remaining seven cell clusters collectively form a large group encompassing the coelomic epithelium of the regenerating anlage and mesentery. Within this large group of clusters, we recognized previously documented cell populations such as muscle precursors, neuroepithelial cells and actively proliferating cells. Strikingly, our analysis provides data for identifying at least four other cellular populations that we define as the precursor cells of the growing anlage. Consequently, our findings strengthen the hypothesis that the coelomic epithelium of the anlage is a pluripotent tissue that gives rise to diverse cell types of the regenerating intestinal organ. Moreover, our results provide the initial view into the transcriptomic analysis of cell populations responsible for the amazing regenerative capabilities of echinoderms.

Posttraumatic regeneration involves differential expression of long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons.

BACKGROUND: Retrotransposons are mobile genetic elements that constitute a sizable proportion of eukaryote genomes. Although retroelements are known to play significant roles in embryogenesis, stress reactions, and disease progression, they have never been studied in the context of animal regeneration. RESULTS: In this study, high-throughput transcriptome analysis revealed unexpectedly large-scale changes in transcriptional activity of retrotransposons in regenerating radial organs of the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima. In particular, we identified 36 long terminal repeat (LTR) retroelements, of which 20 showed significant changes in their expression during regeneration (11 up-regulated, 8 down-regulated, and one was initially up-regulated, but later down-regulated). We then studied in detail the most significantly up-regulated element, Gypsy-1_Hg. This transposon showed a drastic (>50-fold) increase in expression in regeneration and started to return to the normal levels only after the anatomical organization of the injured tissues was restored. All cells expressing Gypsy-1_Hg were located in the vicinity of the wound and included glia and neurons of the radial nerve. The retrotransposon-expressing cells survived programmed cell death and contributed to regeneration. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate considerable changes in transcriptional activity of retrotransposons (both over-expression and down-regulation) associated with posttraumatic regeneration in an echinoderm.

Characterization and Expression of Holothurian Wnt Signaling Genes during Adult Intestinal Organogenesis.

Wnt signaling has been shown to play multiple roles in regenerative processes, one of the most widely studied of which is the regeneration of the intestinal luminal epithelia. Most studies in this area have focused on self-renewal of the luminal stem cells; however, Wnt signaling may also have more dynamic functions, such as facilitating intestinal organogenesis. To explore this possibility, we employed the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima that can regenerate a full intestine over the course of 21 days after evisceration. We collected RNA-seq data from various intestinal tissues and regeneration stages and used these data to define the Wnt genes present in H. glaberrima and the differential gene expression (DGE) patterns during the regenerative process. Twelve Wnt genes were found, and their presence was confirmed in the draft genome of H. glaberrima. The expressions of additional Wnt-associated genes, such as Frizzled and Disheveled, as well as genes from the Wnt/ß-catenin and Wnt/Planar Cell Polarity (PCP) pathways, were also analyzed. DGE showed unique distributions of Wnt in early- and late-stage intestinal regenerates, consistent with the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway being upregulated during early-stages and the Wnt/PCP pathway being upregulated during late-stages. Our results demonstrate the diversity of Wnt signaling during intestinal regeneration, highlighting possible roles in adult organogenesis.

Ubiquitin-proteasome system components are upregulated during intestinal regeneration.

The ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) is the main proteolytic system of cells. Recent evidence suggests that the UPS plays a regulatory role in regeneration processes. Here, we explore the possibility that the UPS is involved during intestinal regeneration of the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima. These organisms can regenerate most of their digestive tract following a process of evisceration. Initially, we identified components of H. glaberrima UPS, including sequences for Rpn10, ß3, and ubiquitin-RPL40. Predicted proteins from the mRNA sequences showed high degree of conservation that ranged from 60% (Rpn10) to 98% (Ub-RPL40). Microarrays and RT-PCR experiments showed that these genes were upregulated during intestinal regeneration. In addition, we demonstrated expression of alpha 20S proteasome subunits and ubiquitinated proteins during intestinal regeneration and detected them in the epithelium and connective tissue of the regenerating intestine. Finally, the intestinal regeneration was altered in animals treated with MG132, a proteasome inhibitor. These findings support our contention that proteasomes are playing an important role during intestinal regeneration.

Radial glia and radial glia-like cells: Their role in neurogenesis and regeneration.

Radial glia is a cell type traditionally associated with the developing nervous system, particularly with the formation of cortical layers in the mammalian brain. Nonetheless, some of these cells, or closely related types, called radial glia-like cells are found in adult central nervous system structures, functioning as neurogenic progenitors in normal homeostatic maintenance and in response to injury. The heterogeneity of radial glia-like cells is nowadays being probed with molecular tools, primarily by the expression of specific genes that define cell types. Similar markers have identified radial glia-like cells in the nervous system of non-vertebrate organisms. In this review, we focus on adult radial glia-like cells in neurogenic processes during homeostasis and in response to injury. We highlight our results using a non-vertebrate model system, the echinoderm Holothuria glaberrima where we have described a radial glia-like cell that plays a prominent role in the regeneration of the holothurian central nervous system.

Intestine Explants in Organ Culture: A Tool to Broaden the Regenerative Studies in Echinoderms.

The cellular events underlying intestine regrowth in the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima have been described by our group. Currently, the molecular and signaling mechanisms involved in this process are being explored. One of the limitations to our investigations has been the absence of suitable cell culture methodologies, required to advance the regeneration studies. An in vitro system, where regenerating intestine explants can be studied in organ culture, was established previously by our group. However, a detailed description of the histological properties of the cultured gut explants was lacking. Here, we used immunocytochemical techniques to study the potential effects of the culture conditions on the histological characteristics of explants, comparing them to the features observed during gut regeneration in our model in vivo. Additionally, the explant outgrowths were morphologically described by phase-contrast microscopy and SEM. Remarkably, intestine explants retain most of their original histoarchitecture for up to 10 days, with few changes as culture time increases. The most evident effects of the culture conditions on explants over culture time were the reduction in the proliferative rate, the loss of the polarity in the localization of proliferating cells, and the appearance of a subpopulation of putative spherulocytes. Finally, cells that migrated from the gut explants could form net-like monolayers, firmly attached to the culture substrate. Overall, regenerating explants in organ culture represent a powerful tool to perform short-term studies of processes associated with gut regeneration in H. glaberrima under controlled conditions.