Newly Discovered Wound Healing Genes in Drosophila

Medical News Today released an article that scientists at UC San Diego that have been identified in wound healing in Drosophia.  Eight genes that have never been suspected to play in that sort of role are found in the exoskeleton of the insect and also control processes in human skin.  With this discovery, researchers believe that new kinds of wound-healing drugs or compounds can be made to treat skin ailments.  By puncturing the cuticle and epidermis of the fruit fly, researchers examined 84 genes that are turned on and 78 that are turned off as the fruit fly responds to healing.  Of the 162 genes, eight were identified to activate only near the wounds of the fly.  The response of these genes were immediate and released antimicrobial peptides and other compounds that would protect it from fungi entry.  The next step is to see if these genes are comparable to the ones in humans.  The scientific paper can be found here.