Techniques for Research in Deer Antlers, the Sole Mammalian Organ which undergoes Epimorphic Regeneration

The annual renewal of deer antlers offers the only opportunity to learn how nature has solved the problem of mammalian organ regeneration. Promotion of the antler model to the field of regenerative biology and medicine, however, requires understanding the mechanism underlying the generation and regeneration of this unique organ. During the course of nearly four decades of antler research, we developed a number of techniques specifically for carrying out the investigation of deer antler biology. In this paper, I summarized six of them including 1) Mechanical disintegration of antler stem cell (AnSC) tissue; 2) In vivo investigation of the interactions between antlerogenic tissue and overlying skin; 3) In vivo identification of skin tissue components required for establishing interactions with AP; 4) Alternative transplantation technique to reduce AP quantity required for antler induction; 5) In vivo evaluation of the role of interposing tissue layers in antler generation; 6) In vitro identification of the interactive molecules between AnSCs and niche cell populations. I believe if these techniques are adopted in the antler research field, it would greatly facilitate the progress for revealing the mechanisms of antler development and ultimately benefit regenerative medicine in general.

Effects of supplementation with different levels of calcium and phosphorus on mineral content of first antler, bone, muscle, and liver of farmed fallow deer (Dama dama)

Nutrition is one of the main factors influencing physiological processes, e.g., growth and antler development, in Cervidae. The aim of this study was to demonstrate a possible effect of supplementation with different levels of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) on the mineral composition of antlers and bones, and its effect on the content of macroelements — Ca, potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), and P — in the muscle tissue, liver, and blood of farmed fallow deer fawns. The results show a positive effect of increased doses of Ca and P on body weight at the age of 14 mo. Additionally, there was a significant increase in the content of Ca, Mg, Na, and P in antlers and Ca, Na, and P in bones. The muscle tissue was characterised by a significant increase only in the content of Na, whereas Ca, K, and P levels increased significantly in the liver. In turn, the serum P content decreased significantly. Adequate Ca and P supplementation exerts a positive effect on the mineral composition of bones and whole antlers of farmed fallow deer fawns, and it enhances the concentrations of macroelements in tissues, which may constitute a reservoir used for future development of antlers. It also has a positive effect on body weight.

Comparative proteomics analysis reveals the difference during antler regeneration stage between red deer and sika deer

Deer antler, as the only mammalian regenerative appendage, provides an optimal model to study regenerative medicine. Antler harvested from red deer or sika deer were mainly study objects used to disclose the mechanism underlying antler regeneration over past decades. A previous study used proteomic technology to reveal the signaling pathways of antler stem cell derived from red deer. Moreover, transcriptome of antler tip from sika deer provide us with the essential genes, which regulated antler development and regeneration. However, antler comparison between red deer and sika deer has not been well studied. In our current study, proteomics were employed to analyze the biological difference of antler regeneration between sika deer and red deer. The proteomics profile was completed by searching the UniProt database, and differentially expressed proteins were identified by bioinformatic software. Thirty-six proteins were highly expressed in red deer antler, while 144 proteins were abundant in sika deer. GO and KEGG analysis revealed that differentially expressed proteins participated in the regulation of several pathways including oxidative phosphorylation, ribosome, extracellular matrix interaction, and PI3K-Akt pathway.