In a study published on Friday, researchers at Rutgers University have found that a molecule released by an intestinal parasite promotes wound healing in mice. After tissue is wounded, the body may heal the wound through skin regeneration or scarring. Regenerated tissue is the same in structure and function as the old tissue, while scarring creates tissues that are different in appearance and prone to various complications.
Dr. George Cotsarelis, director at the University of Pennsylvania Hair and Scalp Clinic and chairman of the department of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, who is not involved in the study, said that the body tends to favor scarring over skin regeneration—hence, research has been dedicated to identifying the chemical that would gear the body toward skin regeneration rather than scar formation. “Scar formation can be problematic resulting in complications including pain, restricted movement, and infections,” Gause told The Epoch Times over email, while tissue regeneration “can restore skin function reducing the likelihood of complications.
” “Scars also lack sweat glands, hair follicles, so you don’t have nerve endings,” Cotsarelis said, adding that scar tissues often have limited sensory capacity. Chemicals secreted by the intestinal parasite known as Heligmosomoides polygyrus, which naturally occurs in rodents, were shown to accelerate skin regeneration, the study authors wrote. TGM binds to the TGF-beta receptor, which is involved in wound healing, in both humans and mice.
The authors found that on the third day of the wound puncture, there was a 40 percent reduction in the wound size for mice given TGM, compared to a 15 percent reduction in those in the control group. Between the first day and second day, there was little difference in the wound size between the two groups. However, from the second day to day eight, TGM mice had a significantly smaller wound opening.
Wounds that were exposed to TGM also exuded less pus. The authors found that for mice given TGM, the structure of the collagen in the healed tissue followed a basket-like configuration, which is more consistent with regenerated tissue. On the other hand, mice that were only given saline to the wound had a more parallel collagen formation, consistent with scar tissue.
Additionally, they also detected hair follicles in the healed tissues. Scar tissue does not have sweat glands and hair follicles. However, Cotsarelis, who was not involved in the study, expressed doubts about the study findings.
“When you accelerate wound healing, that’s usually the opposite of regeneration, because regeneration usually takes longer,” Cotsarelis said, so the result “is a little bit counterintuitive.” He also said that the current study has limitations with the way it assessed hair follicles. The severity of people’s scarring varies and depends on their genetics and age, he said.
While a person’s health does affect how well a wound heals, this is not clearly linked to the appearance and severity of the scar once the tissue heals. “Certainly, for wound healing, you need to have good nutrition, not smoke, and if you’re diabetic, [you should] have that under control to heal the wound, but I’m not sure that’s really going to impact scarring,” Cotsarelis said. “It’s really the size of the wound that matters and the tension that’s on the wound that is more a greater factor in determining scar size.
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