In a new study, researchers found a powerful new approach for treating diabetic foot ulcers, which affect millions of people in the US and often lead to serious complications.
By targeting a gene that controls tissue growth and regeneration, the scientists were able to boost cell division at the site of injury and repair chronic wounds quickly.
The research was conducted by a team at Scripps Research
Given the growing prevalence of diabetes and limited options for treating foot ulcers—which can lead to amputation, in severe cases—it’s clear that more effective treatments are needed.
In the study, the team developed a way to activate multiple aspects of wound healing using a small-molecule drug that can be applied topically, without affecting other tissues.
Essentially, they were able to trick the cells into proliferating and closing the wound, restoring the outer layers of skin.
The researchers screened more than 800,000 molecules to find one that stimulated key regenerative pathways. The drug, PY-60, acts on a previously unknown regulator of tissue growth.
The team tested their approach in animal models and on “human skin equivalents,” which are skin samples from people that are further cultivated in a petri dish.
They hope to begin clinical trials within the next year.
Beyond treating chronic wounds, the team says the approach may lead to new regenerative therapies for heart disease, liver conditions and inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD.
In the near term, however, the focus is diabetic foot ulcers, which affect roughly 15% of people with diabetes.
More than half of those diagnosed with a diabetic foot ulcer will not survive the next five years, and the only existing regenerative therapy was developed more than two decades ago and has limited efficacy.
The study is published in Nature Chemical Biology. One author of the study is chemist Michael Bollong, Ph.D.
Copyright © 2021 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
