When our skin is injured, it goes through a natural healing process which often leaves a scar. However, a new method is said to able to heal wounds without leaving an ugly trace.
Researchers from University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine have found a way to heal wounds without a scar. According to Daily Mail, they were able to work out way to manipulate lesions so they heal as regenerated skin as opposed to scar tissue.
The New Method Can Turn Myofibroblasts Into Fat Cells, A Process Which Was Thought Impossible
Our skin usually has adipocytes, or fat cells specializing in storing energy as fat, which are lost when wounds heal as scars. According to researchers, their new method can turn myofibroblasts, the most common cells found in healing wounds into fat cells that was previously deemed impossible. This would mean that operation marks or scars from plastic surgery would soon be barely visible.
Hair follicles release a vital signalling molecule, called Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP), which is found to instruct scar-forming cells commonly found in healing wounds, myofibroblasts, to transform themselves into adipocytes, The Telegraph reported.
The Researchers Discovery Has Much Wider Implications
Professor George Cotsarelis, lead scientist, said: "Essentially, we can manipulate wound healing so that it leads to skin regeneration rather than scarring." He also added that typically, myofibroblasts were thought to be incapable of becoming a different type of cell. Their work shows that they have the "ability to influence these cells, and that they can be efficiently and stably converted into adipocytes."
Prof Cotsarelis also said that although their study was focused on scarring, their breakthrough discovery has much wider implications. He pointed out that adipocyte loss was a common complication of certain medical conditions such as HIV infection and a natural part of ageing. He said that their findings could move towards a new strategy to "regenerate adipocytes in wrinkled skin" which could then lead to brand new anti-ageing treatments.
