Biological studies of the enzyme hyaluronidase and its possible influence in the skin wound healing process

• Grant number: 11/23992-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: March 01, 2012
• End date: July 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy
• Principal Investigator: Lúcia Helena Faccioli
• Grantee: Marcio Fronza
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 09/07169-5 - Lipid mediators as regulators of immune response, AP.TEM

Abstract

When and injury occurs and the skin is disrupted, the process of tissue repair begins immediately, in a dynamic, continuous and complex process. This process involves a series of molecular and cellular events divided into three overlap phases; inflammation, proliferation and tissue remodeling, moreover the extracellular matrix synthesis, deposition, and degradation occurs during the entire processes. Hyaluronic acid is a non-sulfated glycosaminoglycan of the extracellular matrix and plays crucial biological functions in the healing process of injured skin. The metabolism of hyaluronic acid is the main function of the enzyme hyaluronidase, a group of glycoproteins that acts on the extracellular matrix by changing its composition and structure. The literature has reported different biological activities for hyaluronidase; however its direct involvement in wound healing processes remains unclear. In this context, our proposal is to investigate the in vitro and in vivo activity of the hyaluronidase using different methodologies which involves different phases of the healing processes. The project will be divided in different steps. The first step comprehends the investigation of the hyaluronidase on the proliferative and migratory activity of fibroblasts in vitro; in the second step will be study the involvement of hyaluronidase in the inflammatory process in vivo and finally in the third step of our project, we will explore the in vivo effects of hyaluronidase in the healing of mice skin wounds by observing its activities in all three phases of the healing process. The obtained results could help to elucidate the biological functions of hyaluronidase and, moreover, contribute to the development of new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of skin wounds.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

FRONZA, MARCIO; CAETANO, GUILHERME F.; LEITE, MARCEL N.; BITENCOURT, CLAUDIA S.; PAULA-SILVA, FRANCISCO W. G.; ANDRADE, THIAGO A. M.; FRADE, MARCO A. C.; MERFORT, IRMGARD; FACCIOLI, LUCIA H.. Hyaluronidase Modulates Inflammatory Response and Accelerates the Cutaneous Wound Healing. PLoS One, v. 9, n. 11, NOV 13 2014. (11/23992-3, 09/07169-5)

FRONZA, MARCIO; MUHR, CORNELIA; CALHEIROS DA SILVEIRA, DENISE SAYURI; SORGI, CARLOS ARTERIO; DE PAULA RODRIGUES, STEPHEN FERNANDES; POLISELLI FARSKY, SANDRA HELENA; GARCIA PAULA-SILVA, FRANCISCO WANDERLEY; MERFORT, IRMGARD; FACCIOLI, LUCIA HELENA. Hyaluronidase decreases neutrophils infiltration to the inflammatory site. Inflammation Research, v. 65, n. 7, p. 533-542, JUL 2016. (11/23992-3, 09/07169-5)