The skin can also 'remember' disease

Stem cells in human skin have a strange ability: to remember wounds as well as other effects that harm the body. According to a new study, these "memories " are used to help wounds heal faster.

Certainly, stem cells are not able to produce memory like the brain, but they can record past experiences to improve future wound healing. But sometimes this ability also brings negative results.

Researchers at Rockefeller University in New York said: These are the first evidence that the skin can form a memory of inflammation. Based on that, experts have a better understanding to treat patients in many conditions.

Elaine Fuchs, a member of the research team, said: "By remembering experiences with inflammation, the skin can maintain its integrity - a beneficial feature in the healing process. However, this memory sometimes causes adverse reactions, such as contributing to relapse of inflammation like psoriasis'.

Patients with psoriasis are caused by very rapid and abnormal proliferation of skin cells, causing scratches, skin damage and can cause itching. New research can be applied to slow the skin's rapid response and control problems.

The skin can remember sickness.(Photo: Rockefeller University).

We have known for a long time that the immune system is able to record inflammatory events so that the body "prepares" better in the coming illness in the future. The skin also has a similar mechanism. This ability of the skin involves areas where stem cells are used to repair damage, like the intestines.

Researcher Samantha B. Larsen said: "For a long time, immune cells have been thought to be able to protect the body from inflammatory disease. The root is also a great assistant in this process. '

Tests on mice showed: in areas where the skin was previously damaged, the wound closed twice as quickly, even though the previous inflammation was 6 months away. This result shows that stem cells are better 'trained' after each illness.

Subsequent experiments show that inflammation triggers a process that makes certain genes in the chromosomes of cells become more accessible and more easily accessible. So they can be 'started' faster to deal with the next disease.

In other words, inflammation causes cells to be more alert and this vigilance will be maintained regularly. A researcher said Gene Aim2 - in the sense of protein "damage and danger" plays an important role in this whole process, after being activated during the first inflammation, it can be fast. Quickly supply stem cells to heal wounds for the next time.

Researchers found that most of our skin cells do not last long enough to remember all infections because they are often excreted by the body. It is the deeper stem cells in the epithelium that are responsible for this function.

All of these findings are useful for scientists to find out exactly the changes in the skin: when a cut, sunburn, or anything that causes inflammation. They not only protect the body in the usual way, but also fight diseases at higher levels.

Shruti Naik said: "Understanding the inflammatory process that affects stem cells and other tissue components will dramatically change our perception of many diseases, including cancer. New therapies will come from this study ".

The entire study was published in Nature.