Prof. George Bubenik, Department of Zoology, is studying how scientists can use the embryonic stem cells that induce antler regrowth in white-tailed deer to treat human ailments. Human applications could include the eventual regrowth of fingers and limbs, as well as treatments for arthritis, immune disorders and degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis. All deer shed their antlers each year, and the presence of embryonic stem cells in the antlers allow for regrowth of antlers, differentiating into skin, blood vessels, cartilage and bone.
Deer antlers can grow up to two centimetres a day.
In other mammals, including human beings, only tumours or embryos have the ability to grow new tissue at such a fast rate. Deer antlers are strikingly similar to human limbs, consisting of bone, cartilage, skin, blood vessels and nerves. The key to humans regrowing severed limbs or fingers may simply be a matter of understanding the formation and the function of the embryonic stem cells which occur in antler regrowth, Bubenik says. It is a very complex question that involves biochemistry, endocrinology and cell physiology. As a first step, Bubenik is collaborating with researchers in Germany to study the role deer antler embryonic stem cells might play as a model for treatment of osteoporosis.