Wound-Healing Molecule Gives Cells Instruction To Heal Wounds Faster

Dr. Ben Almquist’s team at Imperial College London has come up with a so-called wound-healing molecule that can interact with the body’s healing system to encourage it to treat wound more effectively.

Dr. Ben Almquist

In a press release, Almquist highlighted that TrAPs (short for traction force-activated payloads) can work with all phases of a wound recovering process and might give human body a better chance to heal. He also said that the TrAPs were highly versatile as it could be effective on several kinds of wounds, from fractured bones to damaged nerves.

The wound-healing molecule also gives hope to patients of some diseases that prevent the wounds from healing properly. A prime example is diabetic foot ulcers. The worst scenario for people with ulcers is amputation. If patients are lucky enough to keep their limb, the healing process may take a longer time than usual with constant pain along the way.

To create this wound-healing molecule, segments of DNA is folded to make a three-dimensional shape named aptamers, which grip firmly to proteins. The next step is to add a handle that has cells clinging on one end and scaffold on the other.

When cells crawl through the scaffold they also activate the trAPs to come apart and turn on the healing proteins. These proteins, in turn, will order the cells to grow in size and number.

Another feature that makes trAPs so special and promising is that they are able to “talk” to the right type of cells at the right moments for better results.

It is still a long way from the lab to clinical testing. However, as aptamers are being used to transport drug, it means that they have already been proved to be safe on the human body. This can be considered an advantage for the team when they make way for the molecules to be used in clinics.

The best part is that TrAPs are entirely artificial, meaning they can be produced in every lab and even in industrial environments. TrAPs are compatible with a wide range of substances so if things go as the team expects, human will have a competent assistant to help with wound healing.