Researchers from North Carolina State University (NCSU) suggest, in their proof-of-concept study, that genetically modified maggots can help wound healing process and promote cell reproduction.
People might find this topic off-the-table, but maggots have been a beneficial tool for centuries in treating wounds. They offer a cheaper way of treatment by eating dead tissues and leaving the healthy ones in place as it secretes anti-microbial factors. It may be considered a cheap way but not necessarily a fast way to heal wounds.
MDT or Maggot Debridement Therapy is a method of wound healing wherein sterile and lab-raised green bottle fly larvae are applied to wounds unable to heal — like diabetic foot ulcers — to decrease infection and promote healing. This method was accepted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2014.
Maggots help heal wounds by producing and secreting a human platelet derived growth factor or PDGF-BB. PDGF-BB secreted by green bottle fly larvae or Lucilia Sericata is a protein known to help tissues heal by stirring cell survival and growth.
Researchers of NCSU made use of two techniques to trigger the maggots to secrete PDGF-BB.
The first technique is through heat. The green bottle fly larvae were placed in a high heat, around 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Human growth factor was sort of seen under certain structure of the maggot but the PDGF-BB was not detected in either of its secretion or excretion, making it not possible for clinical purposes.
"It is helpful to know that a heat-inducible system can work for certain proteins in the green bottle fly, but the fact that maggots did not secrete the human growth factor makes this technique a non-starter for clinical applications like MDT," said Max Scott, professor of entomology in NC State University.
The next technique done produced a better result. The team of Scott from the NCSU and Massey University in New Zealand genetically engineered the green bottle fly larvae through raising them in a diet where there is no antibiotic tetracycline. With this technique, the group saw high levels of PDGF-BB from the secretions and excretions of the maggots, making it a possible option for clinical purposes.
"A vast majority of people with diabetes live in low- or middle-income countries, with less access to expensive treatment options," Scott said. "We see this as a proof-of-principle study for the future development of engineered L. sericata strains that express a variety of growth factors and anti-microbial peptides with the long-term aim of developing a cost-effective means for wound treatment that could save people from amputation and other harmful effects of diabetes."
The study was published online in the journal BMC Biotechnology on March 22.
