Regeneration in higher vertebrates: Limb buds and digit tips

The goal of regeneration studies is the enhancement of human responses, and reaching this goal for any organ system could revolutionize human healthca re. In this review we outline two approaches to regeneration studies in hig her vertebrates. The first is the study of the inherent regenerative capaci ty of the adult mouse digit tip, a model that exemplifies a complex of tiss ue-specific responses. The second is the study of FGF-induced regeneration of the developing limb, a response that re-creates the limb bud. Results fr om these two model systems indicate that there are multiple paths that ulti mately lead to the same place.