11 October 2024

An RNA molecule turned an inflamed wound into a healing wound

The human body is capable of repairing damaged tissue, but in some cases it takes a long time. Scientists from China and Sweden have studied the mechanism of wound healing and identified a key molecule that can accelerate this process.

Recent scientific work has shown several new ways to regulate the natural processes that take place in the human body. For example, the authors of one study blocked a protein that worsens vision with age, and another team created a substance that acts on the body in the same way as 10 kilometers of running on an empty stomach.

Specialists from different universities in China and Sweden have identified an RNA molecule that is responsible for the transition of a wound from a protective inflammatory response to the stage of proliferation, that is, the formation of new cells. The results of the study appeared in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

The authors of the publication conducted an experiment involving 26 healthy adult volunteers. They were given two or three wounds each with a three-millimeter donor biopsy (tissue sample) from the skin of the lower leg or upper buttock. The researchers then took six-millimeter tissue samples from the edge of the wound on the first, seventh, or thirtieth day after it was inflicted.

It turned out that an RNA molecule labeled lncRNA SNHG26 helped the wound go from inflammation to repair. It was its activation that led to positive changes over time.

Scientists conducted an additional experiment on mice to understand how the identified molecule interacts with genes that are involved in the processes of inflammation and new tissue formation. Animals that lacked the lncRNA SNHG26 had slower wound healing than those whose bodies had the substance. This means that new therapeutic approaches to treating acute and chronic wounds could soon be developed based on the study's findings.

“By targeting the lncRNA SNHG26, we may be able to accelerate healing and reduce complications. This is especially important in chronic wounds, where prolonged inflammation becomes a serious problem,” the authors of the paper summarized.

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