AsianScientist (Apr. 4, 2011) – Researchers at Osaka University and King’s College London have identified specific bone marrow cells that can transform into skin cells to repair damaged skin tissue.
In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the team uncovered which specific bone marrow cells are involved, how the process is triggered, and how the key cells are recruited to the affected skin area.
The researchers conducted experiments in mice comparing wound healing with skin-grafts versus non-grafted wounds.
In mice with non-grafted wounds, very few bone marrow cells traveled to the wound and they did not make a major contribution to epidermal repair.
In mice where a skin graft was used, a significantly higher number of specific bone marrow-derived cells traveled to the skin graft and built new skin directly from the bone marrow cells more quickly.
The research showed that around one in every 450 bone marrow cells has the capacity to transform into skin cells and regenerate the skin.
Damaged skin was also found to release distress signals that signal repair. This signal came in the form of a protein called HMGB1 that drives the bone marrow repair process.
These findings provide new insight into how skin grafts work in medicine – they do not simply cover wounds, but act as bioreactors that can kick-start regenerative skin repair.
Animal data from this study was found to also correlate with clinical data. Patients with epidermolysis bullosa have high levels of HMGB1 in their blood, the source of which are the roofs of the blisters in their skin.
“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,” said Prof. John McGrath, who spent several months in Osaka working on the project.
This discovery could lead to future costs savings on the management of chronic wounds. Chronic wounds also have a debilitating effects on peoples’ quality of life and treatments are needed urgently.
Professor McGrath is working together with colleagues at Osaka University to harness the key parts of the HMGB1 protein to create a drug treatment that can augment tissue repair.
The article can be found at:Tamai K. et al. (2011) PDGFRα-positive cells in bone marrow are mobilized by high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) to regenerate injured epithelia.
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Source: King’s College London.
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