Abstract

Mammalian digit tip regeneration is linked to the presence of nail tissue, but a nail-explicit model is missing. Here, we report that nail-less double-ventral digits of {Delta}LARM1/2 mutants that lack limb-specific Lmx1b enhancers fail to regenerate. To separate the nails effect from the lack of DV polarity, we also interrogate double-dorsal double-nail digits and show that they regenerate. Thus, DV polarity is not a prerequisite for regeneration and the nail requirement is supported. Transcriptomic comparison between wild-type and non-regenerative{Delta} LARM1/2 mutant blastemas reveals differential up-regulation of vascularization and connective tissue functional signatures in wild-type versus upregulation of inflammation in the mutant. These results, together with the finding of uniform Lmx1b expression in the wild-type blastema and in the dorsal dermis underneath the nail, indicate that, in addition of the nails effect, a direct role for Lmx1b in driving the progression of digit tip regeneration is likely.