New Moleculeโ Shows Promise in acceleratingโฃ Wound Healing in Diabetic Mice
Researchers at NYU Langone health and SUNY Albany have identified โคa novel molecule, RAGE406R, that significantly accelerates wound healing โขinโ obese mice with Type 2 diabetes. Teh findings, published recently, suggest a potential newโค therapeutic avenue for managing chronic complications associated with diabetes.
The research โcenters around RAGE โข(Receptor for Advanced Glycation End products), a proteinโฃ that โคbinds to AGEs -โ molecules formed when sugars attach to proteins or fats. AGE accumulation is heightened in individualsโ with diabetes and obesity, and increases with age. the team discovered thatโ RAGE406R specifically interferes with โthe interactionโค between RAGE and DIAPH1, a protein crucial for building the cell’sโฃ internal โคstructure via actin filaments. This RAGE-DIAPH1 connection exacerbates diabetic complications.
Previous attemptsโค to block this pathway with a molecule called RAGE229 were haltedโ due toโฃ potential safety concerns regarding DNAโค alteration. RAGE406R overcomes this hurdle by removing โขthe problematic structural element while retaining its abilityโฃ to disrupt the RAGE-DIAPH1 interaction.
In experiments using a mouse model of chronic diabeticโ wound healing, โฃtopical application of RAGE406R demonstrably sped up wound closureโ in bothโ male and female mice. This โฃbetterment is linked to the molecule’s โฃimpact on the immune system. โข
Diabetesโข frequently enough triggers misplaced or โprolonged inflammation, hindering the healing process. RAGE406R effectively reduced levels of CCL2, a key inflammatory signaling molecule, calming inflammation within macrophages (immune cells). This reduction in inflammation facilitated tissue remodeling, a vital step in โwound repair.
“Our findings point to a promising new pathway for treating diabetes in the future,” stated Dr.โ Alexander Shekhtman of SUNYโ Albany. The researchersโ believe this work will not only โฃpave the way for new therapies for both Type 1 and type 2 diabetes, but alsoโ enable the growth of biomarkers to monitor treatment effectiveness in living subjects.
The study involved a collaborative effort from researchersโ at NYU Langone Health andโข SUNY Albany, with funding โfromโข several U.S. โคPublic Health Service grants and support from โคthe NYU Diabetes research Program. Researchers have filed patent applications related to thisโ discovery, and appropriate conflict of interest โฃmanagement protocols โขare in place.