Researchers have discovered that a protein produced by a parasitic gut worm speeds up wound closure, improves skin regeneration and stops scar tissue formation in mice.
“In this study, we have developed a novel therapy for the treatment of skin wounds that favours regenerative wound healing over tissue fibrosis and scarring,” says team leader William Gause, director of the Center for Immunity and Inflammation at Rutgers University in the US.
“It provides a significant framework for the potential use of an easy-to-produce parasite protein as a therapy to promote cutaneous wound healing.”
The protein, TGM, is produced by Heligmosomoides polygyrus, a parasitic roundworm that lives in the intestines of mice and other rodents.
TGM works by binging to a signalling protein, the TGF-b receptor, which is found on the surface of many cell types (including immune cells) in both mice and humans.
The balance between the successful tissue regeneration and scarring that occurs at a wound site is influenced by the types of immune cells recruited there.
In mice, TGM treatment on wounds appears to stimulate the recruitment of immune cells known as macrophages and reprograms them to promote tissue regeneration.
Mice that had daily topical TGM applied to their wound formed new hair follicles within the region once healed, but untreated animals did not.
Whether the protein can enhance wound healing in humans remains to be seen.
The research is published in Life Science Alliance.
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