(Press-News.org) Move over antibiotic ointment, there might be a new salve to dominate medicine cabinets of the future, and it comes from an unlikely place—the lowly salamander. Salamanders may not be the cuddliest of animals, but they can regenerate lost limbs and achieve amazing recovery of seriously damaged body parts. Now, a new report published in the September 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal, identifies a small protein (called a "peptide") from the skin of salamanders that may be the key to unlocking the secret of this amazing wound healing trick in humans.
"This research takes a step toward an understanding of the cellular and molecular events that underlie quick wound healing in the salamander by the discovery of a potential wound healing promoting peptide," said Ren Lai, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Kunming Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Yunnan, China.
To make this discovery, Lai and colleagues collected skin extract from salamanders and separated it by gel filtration and high performance liquid chromatography. The skin component from salamanders was subjected to keratinocyte cell proliferation and endothelial cell tube formation assay to evaluate possible wound healing potential. This component was further subjected to structure and functional analysis, which pointed toward a short peptide called tylotoin that contained 12 amino acid residues. This peptide was found to exert the ability to promote wound healing with epidermal growth factor (EGF) in a murine model of a full thickness dermal wound. Tylotoin directly enhances the motility and proliferation of keratinocytes, vascular endothelial cells and fibroblasts, resulting in accelerated re-epithelialization and granulation tissue formation in the wound site. Tylotoin also promotes the release of transforming growth factor beta1 and interleukin 6, which are essential in the wound healing response.
"Until now, rapid wound healing has been the stuff of superheroes and science fiction," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "Scientists have always wondered how some 'lower' animals heal wounds that would be mortal to humans. Now, we are taking concrete steps to mimic this ancient – and forgotten – healing process in our own bodies."
INFORMATION:
Receive monthly highlights from The FASEB Journal by e-mail. Sign up at http://www.faseb.org/fjupdate.aspx. The FASEB Journal is published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). It is the world's most cited biology journal according to the Institute for Scientific Information and has been recognized by the Special Libraries Association as one of the top 100 most influential biomedical journals of the past century.
FASEB is composed of 27 societies with more than 120,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. Our mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to our member societies and collaborative advocacy.
Details: Lixian Mu, Jing Tang, Han Liu, Chuanbin Shen, Mingqiang Rong, Zhiye Zhang, and Ren Lai. A potential wound-healing-promoting peptide from salamander skin. FASEB J. September 2014 28:3919-3929; doi:10.1096/fj.13-248476 ; http://www.fasebj.org/content/28/9/3919.abstract
Salamander skin peptide promotes quick and effective wound healing in mice
New research in The FASEB Journal suggests that a short peptide called tylotoin exerts the promotion of wound healing with epidermal growth factor (EGF) in a murine model of a full thickness dermal wound
2014-09-02
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
NYC teens and young adults who abuse prescription at high risk for overdose
2014-09-02
The prevalence of opioid-involved overdoses has become an increasing concern to health officials both in NYC and nationally. According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the number of unintentional opioid-involved overdose deaths in 2011 was nearly triple the number of such deaths in 2000. Much of the increase has been attributed to a dramatic rise in nonmedical prescription opioid (PO) use among teens and young adults, and, more recently, in heroin use among youth who transitioned from POs to heroin.
Now researchers affiliated with New York ...
INFORMS study on Iron Dome asks: What was its impact?
2014-09-02
A new study published by The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) examines the strengths and weaknesses of the Iron Dome system, which Israeli authorities have credited with saving lives during the recent conflict with Hamas.
Modeling Short Range Ballistic Missile Defense and Israel's Iron Dome System is by Michael J. Armstrong of the Goodman School of Business, Brock University, in Ontario, Canada. It appears in the Articles in Advance section of the INFORMS journal Operations Research.
The study examines the previous Israel-Gaza ...
Biochemists find new treatment options for staph infections, inflammatory diseases
2014-09-02
MANHATTAN, KANSAS — Two Kansas State University biochemists have discovered a family of proteins that could lead to better treatments for Staphylococcus aureus, a pathogenic bacterium that can cause more than 60,000 potentially life-threatening infections each year.
Brian Geisbrecht, professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, and Kasra Ramyar, his research associate, are studying S. aureus, which is the cause of increasing common staph infections. Their work appears in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS, in the article ...
SMFM releases paper on activity restriction in pregnancy
2014-09-02
WASHINGTON, Sept. 2, 2014—In a new guideline, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine has recommended against the routine use of bed rest in pregnancy.
"There is no evidence that bed rest improves outcomes", says Anthony Sciscione, DO, director of Delaware Center for Maternal and Fetal Medicine and one of the co-authors of the guideline. "However, there is evidence that bed rest can be harmful for moms, babies, and families."
About one in five women are placed on bed rest during their pregnancy. Surveys have shown that both ob/gyns and maternal-fetal medicine specialists ...
How genes link a mother's diet to the risk of obesity in her offspring
2014-09-02
Many research studies have made it clear that a mother's eating habits prior to pregnancy, during pregnancy and during lactation have a profound impact on her offspring and their propensity for developing weight problems, including obesity. However, until now, the mechanisms behind this phenomenon were unclear. According to new research published in the September 2014 issue of The FASEB JournalF, scientists using an animal model found an epigenetic link between a mother's diet and an offspring's risk of future obesity. This link hinges on the blocked expression of a gene ...
Scripps Florida scientists make diseased cells synthesize their own drug
2014-09-02
JUPITER, FL, September 2, 2014 – In a new study that could ultimately lead to many new medicines, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have adapted a chemical approach to turn diseased cells into unique manufacturing sites for molecules that can treat a form of muscular dystrophy.
"We're using a cell as a reaction vessel and a disease-causing defect as a catalyst to synthesize a treatment in a diseased cell," said TSRI Professor Matthew Disney.
"Because the treatment is synthesized only in diseased cells, the compounds could provide ...
Mirabegron for overactive bladder: Added benefit not proven
2014-09-02
Mirabegron (trade name: Betmiga) has been approved since December 2012 for the treatment of adults with overactive bladder. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether this new drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy specified by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA).
Mirabegron had an advantage with regard to side effects: Dry mouth was less common in comparison with tolterodine. No added ...
Giant garbage patches help redefine ocean boundaries
2014-09-02
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 2, 2014 – The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is an area of environmental concern between Hawaii and California where the ocean surface is marred by scattered pieces of plastic, which outweigh plankton in that part of the ocean and pose risks to fish, turtles and birds that eat the trash. Scientists believe the garbage patch is but one of at least five, each located in the center of large, circular ocean currents called gyres that suck in and trap floating debris.
Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), in Sydney, Australia, ...
New method for non-invasive prostate cancer screening
2014-09-02
WASHINGTON D.C., Sept. 2, 2014 – Cancer screening is a critical approach for preventing cancer deaths because cases caught early are often more treatable. But while there are already existing ways to screen for different types of cancer, there is a great need for even more safe, cheap and effective methods to save even more lives.
Now a team of researchers led by Shaoxin Li at Guangdong Medical College in China has demonstrated the potential of a new, non-invasive method to screen for prostate cancer, a common type of cancer in men worldwide. They describe their laboratory ...
Scientists create renewable fossil fuel alternative using bacteria
2014-09-02
The development is a step towards commercial production of a source of fuel that could one day provide an alternative to fossil fuels.
Propane is an appealing source of cleaner fuel because it has an existing global market. It is already produced as a by-product during natural gas processing and petroleum refining, but both are finite resources. In its current form it makes up the bulk of LPG (liquid petroleum gas), which is used in many applications, from central heating to camping stoves and conventional motor vehicles.
In a new study, the team of scientists from ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
New study finds air pollution increases inflammation primarily in patients with heart disease
AI finds undiagnosed liver disease in early stages
The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announce new research fellowship in malaria genomics in honor of professor Dominic Kwiatkowski
Excessive screen time linked to early puberty and accelerated bone growth
First nationwide study discovers link between delayed puberty in boys and increased hospital visits
Traditional Mayan practices have long promoted unique levels of family harmony. But what effect is globalization having?
New microfluidic device reveals how the shape of a tumour can predict a cancer’s aggressiveness
Speech Accessibility Project partners with The Matthew Foundation, Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress
Mass General Brigham researchers find too much sitting hurts the heart
New study shows how salmonella tricks gut defenses to cause infection
Study challenges assumptions about how tuberculosis bacteria grow
NASA Goddard Lidar team receives Center Innovation Award for Advancements
Can AI improve plant-based meats?
How microbes create the most toxic form of mercury
‘Walk this Way’: FSU researchers’ model explains how ants create trails to multiple food sources
A new CNIC study describes a mechanism whereby cells respond to mechanical signals from their surroundings
Study uncovers earliest evidence of humans using fire to shape the landscape of Tasmania
Researchers uncover Achilles heel of antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Scientists uncover earliest evidence of fire use to manage Tasmanian landscape
Interpreting population mean treatment effects in the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire
Targeting carbohydrate metabolism in colorectal cancer: Synergy of therapies
Stress makes mice’s memories less specific
Research finds no significant negative impact of repealing a Depression-era law allowing companies to pay workers with disabilities below minimum wage
Resilience index needed to keep us within planet’s ‘safe operating space’
How stress is fundamentally changing our memories
Time in nature benefits children with mental health difficulties: study
In vitro model enables study of age-specific responses to COVID mRNA vaccines
Sitting too long can harm heart health, even for active people
International cancer organizations present collaborative work during oncology event in China
One or many? Exploring the population groups of the largest animal on Earth
[Press-News.org] Salamander skin peptide promotes quick and effective wound healing in miceNew research in The FASEB Journal suggests that a short peptide called tylotoin exerts the promotion of wound healing with epidermal growth factor (EGF) in a murine model of a full thickness dermal wound