High levels of a molecule known as serpinB3 are known to be a reliable marker of serious diseases including inflammatory disorders and some types of cancer. Certain serpinB3 levels can indicate problems like chronic illnesses in barrier tissues such as the lungs or skin. But scientists have now shown that it also has an important biological function: it can aid in wound healing. The findings have been reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Serpins or serine protease inhibitors help regulate various cellular processes like immunity and blood clotting. Some serpins have been associated with diseases, if they become imbalanced. High levels of serpinB3 have been linked to poor outcomes in lung, liver, and skin cancer patients.
It’s estimated that about 6 millions serious wounds happen to Americans every year, and many are tough to treat. But serpinB3 could aid in would healing. It may also be possible to block serpinB3 as a cancer treatment.
"For more than four decades, serpinB3 has been recognized as a driver of cancer growth and metastasis—so much so that it became a clinical diagnostic. Yet after all this time, its normal role in the body remained a mystery," said co-corresponding study author Jordan Yaron, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at Arizona State University.
"But when we looked at injured, healing skin, we found that cells moving into the wound bed were producing enormous amounts of this protein. It became clear that this is part of the machinery humans evolved to heal epithelial injuries, a process that cancer cells have learned to exploit to spread. This now opens the doors to understanding how this protein is involved in many more diseases."
The researchers determined what genes are activated during would healing; this showed that levels of serpinB3 spike in wounded skin, particularly when wounds are dressed with bandages made of biomaterials. This seems to suggest that these advanced materials are boosting the body’s natural healing abilities.
When serpinB3 levels were boosted in models of wounds, skin cells covered the wounds faster. SerpinB3 activates keratinocytes, which are skin cells that normally repair damage. The cells get mobile when they are activated so they can move into wounds and regenerate tissue.
SerpinB3 seems to support the natural repair networks in the body, increasing new cell and tissue growth.
More research will be needed to confirm these findings, and to fully understand the role of serpinB3 in the body, and in healing.
Sources: Arizona State University, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)