Use of Stem Cells for Surgical Glue

Science Daily recently published an article discussing the research which was originally published in Nature Communications. This research was conducted by scientists at the University of Bristol. Dr. Adam Perriman directed the study which led to the advancement of surgical glue. This new technology involved modifying the membrane of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) with the enzyme thrombin. When these altered cells were combined with fibrinogen, which is found in the blood, they were observed to fuse together. This fusion occurred through the mechanism of a hydrogel on the surface of the cells. The success of this experiment was the solution to a big problem within cell therapies. It is unfortunately common for cell transplantations to fail, however this new technology equipped cells to grow an artificial extracellular matrix which provided them increased protection.

This amazing technology would decrease the time a wound takes to heal considerably. The use of cell therapies for surgical procedures also has the possibility of reducing post surgical infections from a wound which is not sealed efficiently. Reducing the number of hospital acquired infections would allow doctors and resources to be utilized elsewhere. In addition to being used as a welding technology, this invention could open the door for many other new biotechnologies.

Bacteria On the Skin Helps Heal Wounds

Germs! Germs are every where. They are on things you touch, in the air, and even all over your body. Instead of referring to them as germs, lets refer to them as bacteria. There are normal microbes, that are always on your skin, and these are actually helpful bacteria that help keep your immune system strong.  Researchers at The University of Manchester suggest that these microbes on ones skin, actually effect the way a wound can heal. Researcher Dr. Mathew Hardman did a study that compared the skin microbes of people with and without chronic wounds, to see how it effect their healing process. Their study concluded that the microbes on the skin definitely have an impact on the process of wound healing and these certain microbes directly correlate with ones genetic makeup. When they did a similar study on mice, it showed that gene that lacked this "healing gene" had a slower healing process.

I think that this could be a very helpful discovery in medicine. Something that I learned from this article is that 1 in 20 elderly live with chronic wounds. These wounds are painful and can linger around for years because they just seem to not be able to heal. If doctors can find out how to heal these wounds and find out what causes  them to appear, then that would be beneficial. Also, if the researcher's can repeat these conclusion several more times, that the microbes on a person's skin is in fact related to healing, then maybe they could find treatments for chronic wounds.

For more information about chronic wounds visit this website.

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.