Lipoxygenase products and expression of 5-lipoxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein in human cultured synovial cells

Limb regeneration is a phenomenon occurring only in some urodeles. The process seems to be initiated by the dedifferentiation of the terminally differentiated cells. These cells differentiate, subsequently, to the tissues that comprise the limb, thus reconstructing the pattern of the missing limb part. In this paper we review and present evidence that certain cell types of the limb have the capacity to differentiate to different cell types than their original one by cellular metaplasia. This switch is called transdifferentiation. The focus of this review is the process of dedifferentiation which is the necessary prerequisite for differentiation, and the possible mechanisms involved.