Chronic wound healing difficulties are linked to a malfunction of ribonucleic acid (RNA), reports Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
In living cells, most RNA is responsible for using the information in DNA to produce the appropriate proteins, but some so-called micro RNAs regulate – for example, they can block protein production.
Scientists from Ohio State University have shown in animal studies that in poorly supplied wounds with oxygen deprivation, the production of the E2F3 protein, which is needed to stimulate cell growth, to close the damage, decreases. Further work has shown that E2F3 production is disrupted by malfunctioning micro ARNA (miR-210). Inhibiting the action of miR-210 with an experimental drug, antagomir, increased the level of the E2F3 protein and enabled healing.
A new drug, administered topically, could help reduce the problem of difficult-to-heal wounds. Such wounds can be life-threatening, and the cost of treating them amounts to $ 25 billion across the United States. Healing problems include diabetes, hypertension and obesity (PAP).