One of the most frustrating and debilitating complications of diabetes is the development of wounds on the foot or lower leg. Once they form, they can persist for months, often leading to painful and dangerous infections. New research has uncovered the role of a particular protein in maintaining these wounds and suggests that reversing its effects could help aid wound healing in patients with diabetes. The entity, called thrombospondin-2 (TSP2), is elevated in wounds of patients with diabetes as well as in animal models of diabetes. To test its role, researchers genetically removed TSP2 from a mouse model of diabetes and observed improved wound healing. They argue that TSP2 could be a target for a specific therapy for diabetic wounds. The findings will be presented at the American Society for Investigative Pathology annual meeting this week during the 2018 Experimental Biology meet, in San Diego, U.S.
