The researchers captured wild flatworms from Pildammsparken in Malmö, known for their remarkable ability to regenerate. Flatworms can form up to 200 new individuals from a small part of themselves. "Despite the existence of established flatworm models grown in laboratory environments, we wanted to bring the research closer to the organism living in nature," said researcher Rakel Bjurling.
The team extracted exosomes, tiny vesicles involved in cell communication, from the flatworms for the first time. "The exosomes are about the same size as viruses, which makes the work incredibly fiddly," Bjurling added. Assistant researcher Martin Hjort said the study suggests that signaling molecules from flatworms can accelerate the body's own healing processes.
Despite the existence of established flatworm models grown in laboratory environments, we wanted to bring the research closer to the organism living in nature.
"This is the first time someone has shown that it is possible to use regeneration from flatworms in another organism," he said. The exosomes were found to affect growth, gene expression, and the immune system. However, questions remain about scalability of extraction from wild flatworms and whether results can be replicated in other laboratories.
The exosomes are about the same size as viruses, which makes the work incredibly fiddly.
The study suggests that signaling molecules from flatworms can accelerate the body's own healing processes. This is the first time someone has shown that it is possible to use regeneration from flatworms in another organism.