Function of the Flightless protein in wound repair and scar formation in skin

疤痕是伤口修复的不可避免的结果，可以涵盖一系列的条件，从正常的细纹到难看的、限制性的和变形的疤痕。世界上每年有超过1亿患者留下疤痕，主要是由于外科手术。这些疤痕中有许多会造成相当大的问题。每年发生400多万例烧伤疤痕，其中70%为儿童。伤口愈合不良是一个主要的临床问题，可导致运动丧失和畸形。这些对儿童来说是特别重要的考虑因素，因为儿童的生长对伤口愈合和移植物有额外的要求，需要定期进行手术调整。瘢痕形成是一个医疗需求基本上未得到满足的领域，制定新的治疗战略将对公共卫生产生重大影响。细胞粘附、形状和运动的改变是创面修复的重要过程。细丝的框架，很像支撑帐篷的绳，帮助协调这些事件。这些细丝的重塑，缩短或延长它们并建立新的连接，使细胞能够改变形状并对刺激做出反应。这是修复伤口的一个关键事件，而执行这一过程的蛋白质对伤口修复至关重要。我们在皮肤中发现了一种名为Flightless的蛋白质，它参与了细丝的重塑过程。这个项目的目标是确定Flightless在伤口修复中的作用。通过改变这种蛋白质的量，并比较其在无疤痕和疤痕动物伤口愈合模型中的效果，我们可以深入了解它在人类伤口愈合和疤痕形成中的作用。本研究中新动物模型的开发和Flightless在伤口修复中的作用的发现将为改善伤口修复和减少瘢痕形成提供令人兴奋的新机会，对公众健康有重大影响。

Scarring is the inevitable outcome of wound repair and can cover a spectrum of conditions, from normal fine lines to unsightly, restrictive and deforming scars. Each year in the world over 100 million patients acquire scars, primarily from surgical procedures. Many of these scars cause considerable problems. Over 4 million burn scars occur every year, 70% of them in children. Poor wound healing is a major clinical problem and can result in loss of movement and deformity. These are especially important considerations for children, where their growth places extra demands on healing wounds and grafts, necessitating regular surgical adjustment. Scarring is an area of largely unmet medical need and development of new treatment strategies would have significant impact on public health. Changes in cell adhesion, shape and movement are important processes in wound repair. A framework of filaments, much like guy-ropes that support a tent, help coordinate these events. Remodelling of these filaments, shortening or extending them and making new connections, allows cells to change shape and respond to stimuli. This is a crucial event in repairing wounds and the proteins that perform this are fundamentally important to wound repair. We have discovered a protein in skin, known as Flightless, that is involved in this filament remodelling process. The goal of this project is to determine what Flightless does in wound repair. By changing the amount of this protein and comparing its effect in non-scarring and scarring animal wound healing models we can gain insight into its role in wound healing and scar formation in humans. The development of new animal models in this research and the discovery of the role of Flightless in wound repair will provide exciting new opportunities to improve wound repair and reduce scarring, with significant impact on public health.