Jamming cell-cell signals in chronic wound healing
Posted on January 5, 2010
Researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York have identified specific types of chronic wound bacteria and to test their ability to produce cell-cell signaling molecules. In the study, partial gene sequencing is performed which helps to identify 46 chronic wound strains belonging to 9 different genera. The result deduced that close to 70 percent of those chronic wound strains produce a specific type of communication molecule, autoinducer-2 (AI-2). A smaller percentage around 20 percent produce a different type of communication molecules that are called acyl-homoserine-lactones (AHLs). In the study, the researchers have considered chronic wounds like diabetic ulcers, vascular ulcers, or environmentally induced chronic wounds. Based on the result, they inferred that, most resident species – the ‘good’ bacteria that live on us and don’t cause disease – produce AI-2 while the pathogenic species typically produce AHLs.
Alex Rickard, Assistant Professor of biological sciences at Binghamton University
According to Alex Rickard and his team, the typically pathogenic bacteria communicate in one language, the ‘good’ bacteria in another. Also cell-cell signals may be important factors in how wound development could be influenced. Manipulation of cell-cell signaling has the potential to be an effective strategy for wound healing, particularly in influencing ‘bad’ bacteria –which are particularly resistant to antimicrobials. Typical chronic wound bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa tend to have an entire repertoire of aggressive tactics that allow them to maintain a strong presence in chronic wounds. As a result, they are able to multiply rapidly, driving out the resident species and hampering wound healing.
“When bacteria form biofilms, as they do in chronic wounds, they become protected from killing by antimicrobial agents. Consequently, topical antiseptics, systemic antibiotics, and the body’s own defenses are unable to clear such infections. We need alternative strategies – such as jamming bacterial communication – to help weaken the biofilm defenses. Listening in on the bacterial signals may also provide a way to diagnose the state of a chronic wound.”, said Phil Stewart, director of the Center for Biofilm Engineering at Montana State University.
Alex Rickard said, “listening in on bacterial conversations will be the solution for improving chronic wound care”. The study is funded by two grants from the National Institutes of Health.
