(source of photo: http://healthguide.howstuffworks.com/scar-revision-picture.htm)
It is thought that in mammals this healing potential has been lost through evolution, but may lie dormant in cells and could be reactivated by switching off the p21 gene. Mice engineered in the laboratory to lack the p21 gene, were able to renew surgically removed tissue so that no trace of an injury remained. Removing p21 causes adult cells to behave like stem cells – those cells in embryos with a "pluripotent" power to become any kind of tissue. In experiments, mice which were missing the gene had holes punched into their ears, but after a few weeks all traces of the ear holes had disappeared.
It is great to know researchers are making progress in more effective and less abrasive treatment methods for the human healing process. After major surgeries or serious accidents, most people are left with very large scars on their skin. This scar tissue is usually very noticeable. If the P21 gene is turned off, the injury will heal without any evidence that it even existed at all. The article later goes on to say that the P21 gene is tightly controlled by another gene, P53, which is a well-known cell division regulator and tumour suppressor. Defective P53 can lead to many types of cancer. In normal adult cells, P21 acts as an anti-cancer safety mechanism, blocking out cell division in the event of DNA damage. So there is some risk in humans that lacking the P21 gene can cause rapid cell division, leading to the cells becoming dysfunctional and cancerous. In mice, they found that apoptosis (aka "cell suicide" and a cancer-blocking mechanism) directs these dysfunctional cells to kill themselves. I hope they can develop a more effective method to healing in the human body without the side effects because it will make scars unnoticeable.
This is a fascinating area of research. As a therapist I have seen so many disfigured children from accidents and fires - this potential treatment would be life changing for these types of patients!
ReplyDeleteThis is such an amazing concept it's hard to wrap my head around it. It would be extremely beneficial to be able to regenerate scar tissue. There's always a catch though and that's where P53 comes in. If scientists have made this much progress though, hopefully they can find some loophole around the interaction with the P53 gene because it seems that any alteration to that gene would be fatal. The possibility of dysfunctional and cancerous cells just makes it too risky to mess around with P21.
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