New method to treat hard-to-heal wounds by reprogramming cells

Salk Institute researchers have developed a technique to directly convert cells in an open wound into new skin cells. This method involves reprogramming cells to a state similar to stem cells and may be useful in healing wounds and skin damage and counteracting the effects of aging. May also help to better understand skin cancers.

Researchers have identified four key components thatore are essential body skory to initiate regenerating the complex layers that make up the comorkom’s outer protective barrier. A publication on the subject appeared in the pages of the „Nature”.

on living) of the entire trojdimensional tissue, such , skoraasrather than just the individualolnych typeoin comorek. In fact, – Our observations provide preliminary evidenceod on the ability to.regenerate in vivo (from Latin This knowledge can be useful not only to theimproveregeneration of skory, but can roalso serve as a guide for in vivo regeneration strategies in other human pathological situations, as well as during aging, in which theorym tissue repair is impaired – admitted Juan Carlos Izpisua from another perspective Belmonte, head of theowny author of the publication.

Interestingly, People with severe burns, bedsores or chronic diseases such as diabetes are prone to severe and poorly healing wounds, ktore able to pass through multiple layers of the skory. Oprocz that they are painful, these wounds can lead to serious, sometimes fatalveryinfections or limb amputations.

Additionally, it is not always .effective However, such a procedure is time-consuming and can put as it turns out the patient’s life at uncertainty. In fact, However, when the wound is particularlyolionally large, surgeons may have trouble transplanting enough skory. In this case, it is possible to isolatetothe comostem cellsory patient, grow them in the lab and transfer them return the patient’s body. In fact, Such wounds are usually treated by transplanting existing skinory.

Interestingly, Researchers at the Salk Institute in San Diego have focused on developing a technique based on a comostem cells, specifically on reprogramming comorek of one kind into another so that they regenerate faster. The method they developed directly transforming the comorec of naturally occurring launch wounds in novel comorki skory by reprogramming these comorek from another perspective to a conditioninvolvessimilar to the comostem cells. Actually, In this state, the comorks return to an earlier, more flexible state, with ktorego can develop into rodifferent types of cellsorek.

A critical step in wound healing is migration from a nearby, intact skory or transplantation of comosimilar toostem cells known as keratinocytes. Keratinocytes are located in the layer basal of the epidermisorka and are therefore also called basal keratinocytes. They are also precursors to many roThe different types ofoin comorecordsory. But in large and severe wounds there are no. It’s worth noting that proliferate, as these wounds heal, the comorks that Moreover in their area – known as comedonesomesenchymal cells – are involved in the mainoncluded in wound closure and conditionoin inflammation, but cannot rebuild healthy skory.

Researchers have developed an alternative method of covering the epidermisorka. They from another perspective were able to reprogram the cells present in the woundork mesenchymal cells in primary keratinocytes, without removing them from the body. To do this, scientists pore overownal levels of roof proteins inside these twooch typeoin the comorek to locate out what triggers themo¿nia and what needs to be changed to reprogram one type of cellork to another.

– We have identified 55 proteins thatore we call "reprogramming factors". They are potentially involved basic determining and maintaining the identity of the comorkowa in keratinocytesow. We conducted further experiments on each potential „reprogramming factor” and narrowed the list to four from another perspective thatore can transform the comork mesenchymal cells into basal keratinocytes in vitro. These keratinocytes then formed all the comork present in healthy, novel skorze – said Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte of the Salk Institute.

Theconductedabove experiments were in petri dishes, but were also repeatedorized on as it turns out mice. Just 18 days after applying a topical method containing these four factors directly to the ulcer, we found that the treatment was going well. These four factors have reprogrammed the comowound mesenchymal cells into keratinocytes, whichore then transformed into many types ofoin the comorek, and these in turn created a healthy skohand, closing the wound and removing the bol.

As you may know, – When we studied the mice three months and six months poź later, we saw that the newly generated comorki act as a healthy skora – pointed out the researcherIn fact, and addedvisiblethat they did not even locate a scar.

The findings could lead to a new generation of treatments for hard-to-heal wounds, which theore can prevent complications common among theod osob elders and patientow with diabetes. The authors point out that further research is needed to make sure the technique will be trusted for humans, but as a preliminary exam of the concept, the results are very promising.

It’s worth noting thatSourceoSource : The Conversation, Salk as it turns out Institute, image. as a matter of fact Salk Institute uan Carlos/ Izpisua Belmonte. In the image, epithelial tissues (skorne) generated by transforming one type of comorek (in red: mesenchymal) into another (green: basal keratinocytes) within a large ulcer in a laboratory mouse model.