Chronic wounds are difficult to cure and their management is quite expensive. According to an estimate, management of chronic wounds costs over one billion pounds in the UK alone. A lot of emphasis is given to finding new treatment methods that can reduce healing time of chronic wounds. A recent study by the researchers at King's College London and Osaka University, Japan shows that certain bone marrow cells can help regenerate skin by transforming into skin cells.
Previous studies have shown that bone marrow may be involved in skin wound healing. However, the details of this process such as which bone marrow cells perform this function and how is the process carried out, were not known. Professor John McGrath, Head of the Genetic Skin Disease Group at King's college, and a team of researchers conducted experiments on mice. They used skin grafts to heal skin wounds of one group of mice and another group was treated without skin grafts.
The researchers observed that very few bone marrow cells migrated to the wound site in the mice that were treated without skin grafts. The cells that approached the wound site were not of much help in repairing the skin. On the other hand, a significant number of specific bone marrow cells reached the wound site in the mice that were treated with skin grafts. The specific bone marrow cells contributed in quick healing and in building new skin from the cells. The results showed that approximately one in 450 bone marrow cells have the ability to generate new skin. The scientists also found that when skin is damaged, it releases a protein HMGB1, which steers bone marrow cells to the location where they are needed for repairing the skin. The mice that had skin grafts, appeared to have high levels of HMGB1.
"This work is tremendously exciting for the field of regenerative medicine. The key achievement has been to find out which bone marrow cells can transform into skin cells and repair and maintain the skin as healthy tissue, and to learn how this process happens, said Professor McGrath. "Understanding how the protein HMGB1 works as a distress signal to summon these particular bone marrow cells is expected to have significant implications for clinical medicine, and could potentially revolutionize the management of wound healing.
The discovery made in this research is significant because it can substantially improve the outlook for people suffering from pressure ulcers, leg ulcers and burns. Additionally, it can lower the cost of treatment of such wounds, which will substantially help national healthcare systems.
Chronic wounds are difficult to cure and their management is quite expensive. According to an estimate, management of chronic wounds costs over one billion pounds in the UK alone. A lot of emphasis is given to finding new treatment methods that can reduce healing time of chronic wounds. A recent study by the researchers at King's College London and Osaka University, Japan shows that certain bone marrow cells can help regenerate skin by transforming into skin cells.
Previous studies have shown that bone marrow may be involved in skin wound healing. However, the details of this process such as which bone marrow cells perform this function and how is the process carried out, were not known. Professor John McGrath, Head of the Genetic Skin Disease Group at King's college, and a team of researchers conducted experiments on mice. They used skin grafts to heal skin wounds of one group of mice and another group was treated without skin grafts.
The researchers observed that very few bone marrow cells migrated to the wound site in the mice that were treated without skin grafts. The cells that approached the wound site were not of much help in repairing the skin. On the other hand, a significant number of specific bone marrow cells reached the wound site in the mice that were treated with skin grafts. The specific bone marrow cells contributed in quick healing and in building new skin from the cells. The results showed that approximately one in 450 bone marrow cells have the ability to generate new skin. The scientists also found that when skin is damaged, it releases a protein HMGB1, which steers bone marrow cells to the location where they are needed for repairing the skin. The mice that had skin grafts, appeared to have high levels of HMGB1.
"This work is tremendously exciting for the field of regenerative medicine. The key achievement has been to find out which bone marrow cells can transform into skin cells and repair and maintain the skin as healthy tissue, and to learn how this process happens, said Professor McGrath. "Understanding how the protein HMGB1 works as a distress signal to summon these particular bone marrow cells is expected to have significant implications for clinical medicine, and could potentially revolutionize the management of wound healing.
The discovery made in this research is significant because it can substantially improve the outlook for people suffering from pressure ulcers, leg ulcers and burns. Additionally, it can lower the cost of treatment of such wounds, which will substantially help national healthcare systems.
