Methods and pharmaceutical compositions for healing wounds

Abstract

A pharmaceutical composition and method for inducing or accelerating a healing process of a skin wound are described. The pharmaceutical composition contains, as an active ingredient, a therapeutically effective amount of at least one agent for modulating PKC production and / or activation, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The method is effected by administering the composition to a wound.

Description

[0001]This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 644,775 filed Aug. 21, 2003, pending, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 169,801, filed Jul. 9, 2002, which is a National Phase of PCT / IL01 / 00675, filed Jul. 23, 2001, which claims priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 629,970, filed Jul. 31, 2000, now abandoned. This application also claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional patent application No. 60 / 486,906, filed Jul. 15, 2003.FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to a method and a pharmaceutical composition for inducing and / or accelerating cell proliferation, and / or cell differentiation and thereby accelerating the healing process of wounds. More particularly, the present invention relates to the use of modulated expression and / or activation, e.g., as initiated by membrane translocation, of serine / threonine protein kinases, also known as PKCs, for inducing and / or accelerati...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides a method and pharmaceutical composition for inducing or accelerating the healing process of a skin wound. The method involves administering to the skin wound an agent that modulates the production or activity of protein kinase C (PKC), such as insulin or an insulin secreting cell. The pharmaceutical composition includes insulin or a nucleic acid construct designed to produce and secrete insulin. The method and pharmaceutical composition can be used to promote skin wound healing, particularly in cases of ulcers, burns, lacerations, and surgical incisions."

Problems solved by technology

Wound healing is impaired when these components, either individually or as a whole, do not function properly.

Yet skin ulceration in diabetic patients takes a staggering personal and financial cost (29, 30).

However, other mechanisms whereby the diabetic state associated with abnormal insulin signaling impairs wound healing and alter the physiology of skin has not been elucidated.

There is also a common problem of wound healing following surgical procedures in various parts of the body, the surgery succeeds but the opening wound does not heal.

The limitations for investigating the role of distinct PKC isoforms in skin cells proliferation and / or differentiation has been hampered as result of the difficulty in introducing foreign genes efficiently into primary cells, by conventional methods.

The short life span, differentiation potential and the inability to isolate stable transformants do not allow efficient transduction of foreign genes into primary skin cells.

However, none of these patent applications teaches the use of insulin for treating chronic, Grade II or deep wounds.

However, the use of insulin in combination with another biologically active agent capable of modulating the expression and / or activation of PKC is not taught nor suggested in this application.

However, this patent application fails to teach the use of insulin for the purpose of treating diabetes non-related wounds.

However, the application of insulin on wounds in vivo is not taught by these patents.

Furthermore, the prior art fails to teach or suggest utilizing nucleic acid constructs or genetic transformation techniques for providing insulin to wounds, so as to accelerate the healing process of the wounds.

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