As humans, our bodies have incredible regenerative abilities – our wounds heal, broken bones mend and some of our organs can even regrow after injury. But one thing we haven’t quite figured out is how to prevent aging and mortality. That is why the discovery of the multipotent stem cells in the Starlet Sea Anemone could educate us on how these incredible sea creatures are considered immortal.
Immortal?
The starlet sea anemone’s ability to regenerate is superhero-like. If one of these anemones is cut into however many pieces, each piece will grow into a new anemone! In other words, if the anemone is cut in half the head part will grow new legs, and the leg part will grow a new head. It is this impressive ability that allows them to be practically immortal, and had scientists wondering: just how do they do it?
The Starlet Sea Anemone
These anemones are located along the eastern coast of the US and have some scattered populations along the western coast, as well as the southeast coast of Britain. The starlet sea anemone, scientifically known as Nematostella vectensis, is a part of the phylum Cnidaria which is famous for its complete regenerative abilities. In fact, the jellyfish Turritopsis dohrniI is functionally immortal and it’s because of this that these animals are prominent in anti-aging research.
Asexual and Sexual Reproduction
The starlet sea anemone can reproduce both sexually and asexually which means that they can easily be raised in labs. This has made them the go-to species, or model organism, for scientists studying the regenerative abilities of cnidarians in broad. Even though it is a known fact that these anemones show almost no signs of aging, their small size has made it difficult to identify the stem cells driving this – until now!
Potential Source of Eternal Youth
During a recent study done by researchers from the University of Vienna, the team has potentially found the small, multi-potent stem cell in the starlet sea anemone responsible for cnidarians’ continuous regeneration. A massive breakthrough!
Single Cell Genomics
The team used a new technique called single-cell genomics to look for these cells in the starlet sea anemone. This led them to a group of cells that form differentiated cells, like nerve and glandular cells, leading the scientists to believe that this group of cells is the multi-potent stem cells they have been looking for!
Last Thoughts
Even though it might not seem like much, having found these stem cell candidates allows future studies to dive deeper into the mechanisms allowing the starlet sea anemone and other cnidarians to avoid aging. And by doing so, there is an opportunity for further research into how these adaptations could be used to help us humans fight the battle against time!
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