There are many illnesses and conditions which occur in elderly populations which disrupt tissue repair such as pressure ulcers, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, persistent bacterial and fungal infections, and malignancies. In general, wound healing in an aging individual occurs at a slower rate than a younger individual. This slowing process observed at the tissue and cellular level is manifested by reduced oxygen consumption, slower glucose metabolism, slower inflammatory response, reduced macrophage function and fibroblast responses and slower capillary growth and re-epithelialization rates. Although several studies have demonstrated that the addition of growth factors or small peptides can reduce the time required for wound closure, there is still not an adequate topical remedy in the marketplace. The research proposed in this investigation seeks to discover the identity and chemistry behind the efficacy of old medications which use alcoholic extracts of yeast as their active ingredient. Experiments using two dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectroscopy are proposed in the first phase of this research to identify the amino acid sequences of the yeast peptides recovered from the medication. Published experiments demonstrate that these peptides accelerate healing in normal and diabetic mice. The genes that encode these peptides will then be used to construct yeast expression vectors that over-express and secrete on demand pure proteins. The proteins in turn will be immunoaffinity purified and tested later for their biological activity in established animal models for wound healing. The Lotus Group, Inc. intends to formulate a medication based on the results, manufacture this medication and bring it to the marketplace. ? ? ?
