A scientist from the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) developed a biological patch from adult stem cells that allows the restoration of the skin in patients with diabetic foot ulcers.
The patch, which recently received the granting of the first Mexican patent in the field of regenerative medicine, is capable of leaving the structure of the skin as it was before the problem arose.
In an interview, the biologist and creator of this innovation, Ricardo Rangel Martínez, explained that the dressing can regenerate this organ due to the fact that the stem cells secrete nanoparticles inside which they contain factors and molecules that intervene in regenerative processes.
"Stem cells have the property of secreting exosomes that contain growth factors for immunomodulation and inflammation, as well as molecules called micro RNA" inside them.
He explained that these molecules are responsible for turning on the genes related to regenerative processes, so when the patch is in the wound “it has a molecular dialogue with the lymphocytes that inflame the tissue and with the fibroblasts. They activate them and start synthesizing the extracellular matrix”.
Rangel Martínez added that the fibroblast begins to secrete collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid, which allows the skin to begin to regenerate, in addition to activating the vascularization process, which means that damaged feet do not have to be amputated.
“This allows the new tissue that is being formed to be nourished and the nutritional elements of the blood and oxygen to arrive; the circle is closed to induce the regenerative process”, he pointed out.
He pointed out that the patch could lower costs for the treatment of diabetic foot and reduce the amputation of these extremities, since 100 are performed each year in the country.
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Source: Forbes.com.mx
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