Gel 'Could Lead To Scar-Free Wound Healing'

Scientists in the UK are developing a gel, which could help to heal wounds faster and reduce scarring.

The gel, which is the product of research by a team at the University of Bristol, works by suppressing one of the genes that normally switches on in wound cells.

When skin is damaged a blood clot forms and cells underneath the wound start to repair the damage, leading to scarring.

Scarring is a natural part of tissue repair and is most obvious where skin has healed after a cut or burn. It ranges from trivial complaints, such as a grazed knee to chronic complaints, such as diabetic leg ulcers and is not limited to the skin.

All tissues scar as they repair: for example, alcohol-induced liver damage leads to fibrosis and liver failure, and after most abdominal surgeries, scars can often lead to major complications.

Tissue damage triggers an inflammatory response by white cells to protect skin from infection by killing microbes. The same white cells guide the production of layers of collagen. These layers of collagen help the wound heal, but they stand out from the surrounding skin and result in scarring.

However, the research conducted by Professor Paul Martin and his team at the University of Bristol found that osteopontin (OPN) is one of the genes that triggers scarring and that applying a gel, which suppresses OPN to the wound, can accelerate healing and reduces scarring. It does this in part by increasing the regeneration of blood vessels around the wound and speeding up tissue reconstruction.

The team said that the discovery would have major implications not just for wound victims, but also for people who suffer organ tissue damage through illness or abdominal surgery.

Professor Martin said: "White blood cells (macrophages), and the chemical signals (PDGF) delivered to the wound cells, and osteopontin itself are now all clear targets for developing medicines to improve healing of skin wounds and other organs where fibrotic tissue repair can be debilitating.

"We hope that it won't be too long before such therapies are available in the clinic. Indeed, the technique for suppressing OPN to reduce scarring is currently being licensed and patented by a Biotech company specializing in wound-healing therapies," he said.

The findings are published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

(KMcA)