| Large-scale biophysics: ion flows and regeneration Trends in Cell Biology, Volume 17, Issue 6, 1 June 2007, Pages 261-270 Michael Levin Abstract Regeneration requires exquisite orchestration of growth and morphogenesis. A powerful but still largely mysterious system of biophysical signals functions during regeneration, embryonic development and neoplasm. Ion transporters generate pH and voltage gradients, as well as ion fluxes, regulating proliferation, differentiation and migration. Endogenous bioelectrical signals are implicated in the control of wound healing, limb development, left–right patterning and spinal cord regeneration. Recent advances in molecular biology and imaging technology have allowed unprecedented insight into the sources and downstream consequences of ion flows. In complement to the current focus on molecular genetics and stem cell biology, artificial modulation of bioelectrical signals in somatic tissues is a powerful modality that might result in profound advances in understanding and augmentation of regenerative capacity. Abstract | Full Text | PDF (994 kb) |
| Wound healing: The power of the purse string Current Biology, Volume 9, Issue 16, 26 August 1999, Pages R602-R605 Daniel P Kiehart Summary Recently, oocytes have been shown to repair wounds using a contractile system composed of actin and myosin-II. The work underscores the importance of actin-based myosin-II contractility in cellular and supracellular ‘purse strings’ that function in diverse biological processes. Summary | Full Text | PDF (186 kb) |
| Targeting Connexin43 Expression Accelerates the Rate of Wound Repair Current Biology, Volume 13, Issue 19, 30 September 2003, Pages 1697-1703 Cindy Qiu, Petula Coutinho, Stefanie Frank, Susanne Franke, Lee-yong Law, Paul Martin, Colin R. Green and David L. Becker Summary The repair of tissue damage is a key survival process in all organisms and involves the coordinated activation of several cell types. Cell-cell communication is clearly fundamental to this process, and a great deal is known about extracellular communication within the wound site via cytokines . Here we show that direct cell-cell communication through connexin 43 (Cx43) gap junction channels also plays a major role in the wound healing process. In two different wound healing models, incisional and excisional skin lesions, we show that a single topical application of Cx43 antisense gel brings about a transient downregulation of Cx43 protein levels, and this results in a dramatic increase in the rate of wound closure. Cx43 knockdown reduces inflammation, seen both macroscopically, as a reduction in swelling, redness, and wound gape, and microscopically, as a significant decrease in neutrophil numbers in the tissue around the wound. One long-term consequence of the improved rate of healing is a significant reduction in the extent of granulation tissue deposition and the subsequent formation of a smaller, less distorted, scar. This approach is likely to have widespread therapeutic applications in other injured tissues and opens up new avenues of research into improving the wound healing process. Summary | Full Text | PDF (609 kb) |
Copyright © 1979 The Biophysical Society. All rights reserved.
Biophysical Journal, Volume 27, Issue 3, 461-466, 1 September 1979
doi:10.1016/S0006-3495(79)85230-3
Research Article
W. Gensler
A brief summary of the major results in enhanced wound healing by electrolysis in animals and humans is presented along with the results of enhanced growth by electrolysis in plants. Hypotheses of normal and enhanced wound healing in animal and plants are reviewed. A comparison of the experimental results indicates strong similarities in the optimum magnitude and polarity of the externally applied galvanic current in animals and plants. There are, however, differences in optimum current densities, There are strong similarities in animal and plant electropotential changes during normal healing.