Select a Hospital
Boston
Canada
Chicago
Cincinnati
Erie
Galveston
Greenville
Honolulu
Houston
Salt Lake City
Lexington
Los Angeles
Mexico City
Northern California
Philadelphia
Portland
Shreveport
Spokane
Springfield
St Louis
Tampa
Twin Cities

visit a hospital               ---------------------

Dorothy Supp, Ph.D. Photo courtesy of The University of Cincinnati

Cincinnati--Cincinnati burns researchers have created genetically modified skin cells that, when added to cultured skin substitutes, may help fight off potentially lethal infections in patients with severe burns.

Dorothy Supp, Ph.D., a Shriners Hospitals researcher and adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati, and her team, found that skin cells that were genetically altered to produce higher levels of a protein known as human beta defensin 4 (HBD4) killed more bacteria than normal skin cells.

HBD4 is one in a class of proteins that exist throughout the body as part of its natural defense system. Researchers have only recently begun targeting these tiny molecules as a way to combat infections.

"If we add these genetically modified cells to bioengineered skin substitutes, it would provide an important defense system boost during the initial grafting period, when skin is most susceptible to infection," explains Supp.

Read more about this Shriners Hospitals-funded study

Shriners International Headquarters
2900 Rocky Point Dr. Tampa, FL 33607
(813) 281-0300