Speeding up wound healing in diabetic patients

Excess glucose in the bloodstream of diabetic patients can lead to complications such as impaired wound healing. Image credit: freepik

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease characterised by abnormally high levels of glucose in the blood. Globally affecting almost 10% of adults, according to the World Health Organisation, the prevalence of diabetes has risen in recent years, becoming a major public health concern.

One of the most common complications of diabetes is impaired wound healing, which leads to high risks of infections, amputations of affected limbs and even death.

A team of researchers led by Assoc Prof Wang Xiaomeng of NTU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine set out to investigate the role of Leucine-rich α-2-glycoprotein 1 (LRG1)—a protein previously found to be important in inflammation—in diabetic wound healing.

The researchers compared expression levels of LRG1 in wound tissues of diabetic and non-diabetic patients, as well as in a diabetic mouse model, and detected elevated levels of LRG1 in the wounds of diabetic patients and mice. Using the mouse model, the scientists found that LRG1 supports timely wound closure in non-diabetic mice by stimulating cell proliferation and the formation of blood vessels. In contrast, the persistently elevated levels of LRG1 levels detected in diabetic mice appeared to contribute to excessive inflammation and delayed wound closure.

“Currently, treatments for delayed wound healing in patients with diabetes are limited as there is little understanding of the wound-healing process in diabetic patients,” says Assoc Prof Wang.

“Our findings show that LRG1 plays a complex but critical role in normal and diabetic wound healing. Targeting LRG1 may thus be an attractive strategy to accelerate wound closure in diabetic patients.”

The study “A multifunctional role of Leucine-Rich α-2-Glycoprotein 1 in cutaneous wound healing under normal and diabetic conditions” was published in Diabetes (2020), DOI: 10.2337/db20-0585.