Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, May 21 (Reporter Zhang Jiaxin) Researchers from Mount Sinai Icahn Medical College in the United States have designed a regenerative medicine therapy that can accelerate the healing of diabetic wounds. The therapy uses tiny fat particles containing genetic instructions to alleviate inflammation. The results showed that the therapy could target the cells causing the problem, and reduce the swelling and harmful molecules in the mouse skin injury model. Related papers were published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on the 20th.
Diabetic wounds are usually resistant to conventional treatment and pose a serious health risk to millions of people worldwide. Macrophages in the human body should play an active immune role, but in some cases, they may trigger inflammatory reactions. This inflammation will damage other cells, making it more difficult for the wound to heal normally.
The new therapy uses RNA lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) loaded with IL-4, which can target dysfunctional macrophages while reducing inflammation and the production of "reactive oxygen species" (ROS) in diabetic wounds. IL-4 is an intercellular signaling protein called cytokine.
ROS molecules are naturally generated in various metabolic processes in the body, and play a role in cell signal transduction and immune response. However, excessive ROS can lead to oxidative stress and damage cells, proteins and DNA. This kind of pressure is related to various diseases and symptoms such as inflammation and aging.
The preclinical model proved that the new therapy could reprogram inflammatory macrophages into repair macrophages, thereby improving the wound healing effect.
Although the results are encouraging, the researchers stressed that strict randomized controlled clinical trials are still needed to ensure the safety and effectiveness of its application in humans.
