Herbal Angiogenesis Stimulator for Chronic Wound Healing

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Chronic wounds translate into daily suffering for 7 million elderly people in United States and Europe alone. Modern dressings, as used today, are insufficient for optimal treatment of these wounds because most often they do not include compounds actively promoting wound healing. Stimulation of angiogenesis (wound vascularization) is a key requirement and a logic therapeutic approach to chronic wound healing. However, wound dressings, which include proteinaceous angiostimulators, are disappointing, because these stimulators are highly labile and cannot be maintained in treatment sites at therapeutic levels. Here we propose to test for enhancement of wound healing a small and stable angiostimulatory and fibroblast stimulatory molecule isolated in our laboratory from a Chinese medicinal plant. Using planimetry and advanced histochemistry we will test the effect of this stimulator on the speed and completeness of wound closure and on the quality of the reepithelialized tissue in animal and chimera human skin models. Furthermore, we will determine the chemical structure of this molecule with NMR, mass spectrometry, elemental analysis and crystallography. Taken together, this project aims to provide the proof-of-principle that a small stable angiogenesis/fibroblast stimulator can significantly improve wound healing and lead to a novel, commercially viable therapy for the treatment of chronic wounds.