Degradation of eschar from venous leg ulcers using a recombinant chymotrypsin from Lucilia sericata.
Br J Dermatol
; 163(3): 523-31, 2010 Sep.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20491762
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Larvae of the greenbottle Lucilia sericata are used to debride nonhealing wounds and stimulate the production of fresh granulation tissue. Previous publications have shown that secretions from L. sericata contain a number of proteolytic activities including a chymotrypsin that degrades a number of extracellular matrix components such as fibronectin, laminin and collagen.OBJECTIVES:
To produce a recombinant L. sericata chymotrypsin (chymotrypsin I) and determine its effects on the degradation of patient wound eschar.METHODS:
An active recombinant chymotrypsin I from L. sericata was cloned and expressed in Sf9 cells and its subsequent effects ex vivo on eschar from venous leg ulcers were determined by two-dimensional electrophoresis.RESULTS:
The recombinant enzyme had the attributes of a chymotrypsin, possessing sequence homology with other chymotrypsins and demonstrating attributes of the native enzyme including cleavage of the chymotrypsin substrate succinyl-alanyl-alanyl-prolyl-phenylalanyl-7-amino-4-methyl coumarin, inhibition by phenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride and lack of inhibition by amidinophenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride. Importantly, the recombinant chymotrypsin cleaved the majority of proteins from slough/eschar from venous leg ulcers in a superior manner to chymotrypsins from human and bovine sources.CONCLUSIONS:
The ex vivo degradation of eschar from venous leg ulcers indicates the potential value of recombinant chymotrypsin I as a novel, stand-alone debridement agent.
Full text:
1
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Varicose Ulcer
/
Wound Healing
/
Chymotrypsin
/
Diptera
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
En
Year:
2010
Type:
Article