Relationship between variations of cAMP,neuromediators and the stimulation of nucleic acid synthesis during planarian (Polycelis tenuis) regeneration

Regenerating planarians of the species Polycelis tenuis have been studied with respect to the two distinct phases which occur during regeneration, viz., the first 24 h involving cellular activation, and the following days when differentiation of the blastema occurs after a period of cellular proliferation. We have studied particularly the biochemical events that control regeneration with respect to the nature of the signals which induce cellular activation, the membrane receptors of these signals, and the consequences of these signals for the cellular metabolism of DNA, RNA and proteins. The roles of neurohormones such as serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline are assessed, and a provisional model of the process of cellular activation is proposed which takes account of all the information that is now available concerning planarian regeneration.