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Cancer-causing parasite can promote wound healing?
A parasitic, carcinogenic worm could help improve human wound healing, scientists from James Cook University (JCU) in Australia report. "Opisthorchis Viverrini" is a sucking worm that is very common in Thailand, Laos and Malaysia. The worm can stimulate the development of bile duct and liver cancer, but also accelerate wound healing and blood vessel growth, the Australian researchers said in a JCU press release.
The parasite can enter the human body by eating raw fish. That's why millions of people in Southeast Asia are already infected with the worm. "Opisthorchis Viverrini" is short, ugly and deadly, the researchers write. The pest causes bile duct and liver cancer and is the reason for the death of about 26,000 people a year. But it could also help greatly improve wound healing, said the JCU researchers from the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine (AITHM).
Parasite is absorbed by fish and can survive decades in the gut
The JCU scientists Dr. Michael Smout and Professor Alex Loukas found that the parasite secretes a secretion that accelerates human wound healing and blood vessel growth. The small worm seems to be found only in fish from rivers. The eggs of the worm are taken over raw fish. Then small worms hatch in the intestine. To survive, the worm creeps into the liver and bile ducts of its host. There he begins to eat parts of the organ for years.
The resulting wounds are relieved with a secretion to wound healing. Unfortunately, this improved wound healing also brings with it a major disadvantage: the risk of developing cancer is increasing.
The parasite can live for decades in the human body before it develops cancers such as bile duct carcinoma (CCA). Therefore, the worm has an incentive for his host to stay healthy and live as long as possible. JCU professor Alex Loukas added that these little "beasts" are highly developed. They are almost as complex as humans, considering that the tiny worms have about 15,000 genes in their genome, according to Loukas. The parasites have their own nervous and digestive system. Through a mouth they absorb blood and digest it.
Secretion of parasites Miracle remedy for wound healing?
The researcher Dr. Smout explained that based on current findings, the parasite can help accelerate the healing of chronic wounds such as diabetic ulcers. In addition, a vaccine can now be developed that works against the cancer triggered by the worm. This vaccine would help all people who are directly affected by cancer risk. In addition, the promotion of growth in the blood vessels form a kind of "miracle cure" in a variety of vascular diseases.
Worm secretion helps with diabetes
Diabetes is a growing health problem in modern industrialized nations, and there is a growing threat of disease progression. These include increased non-healing wounds. Other inflammatory diseases may be associated with corresponding impairment of wound healing.
A powerful wound healing agent derived from the parasite's secretion could help diabetics and elderly patients to accelerate their healing process, said the doctor. Michael Smout. However, scientists are still trying to understand just how well worm secretion controls healing. For this reason, Smout and colleagues report that the development of a remedy or vaccine takes several years. (As)