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.