How immune cells help skin wounds heal
Macrophage Phenotypes and Tissue Repair
The team will learn how different immune cells, like macrophages and natural killer cells, act during normal and diabetic skin wound healing so future therapies can better boost repair.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Illinois at Chicago NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, UNITED STATES) |
| Project ID | NIH-11336830 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From a patient's perspective, researchers will study skin wound healing in normal, diabetic, and improved (LIV-treated diabetic) models to understand how immune cells behave over time. They will track when and where monocytes, macrophages, and natural killer cells divide and change their activity after entering a wound. The team will use lineage tracing plus single-cell and spatial gene-expression tools (scRNA-seq, scATAC-seq, and spatial transcriptomics) to map cell types and communication across space and time. Key pathways identified this way will then be tested mechanistically to find targets that might be manipulated to improve healing.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with skin wounds—especially those with diabetes or slow-healing/chronic ulcers—are the most relevant candidates for future trials or sample donation.
Not a fit: People without skin wounds or whose conditions are unrelated to immune cell-driven wound repair are unlikely to benefit directly.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could point to new ways to speed healing and treat chronic diabetic skin wounds by targeting specific immune-cell behaviors or their communication with other wound cells.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research shows immune cells strongly influence wound healing and some immune-targeting approaches help in animal models, but combining lineage tracing with spatial single-cell methods is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
Chicago, UNITED STATES
- University of Illinois at Chicago — Chicago, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Koh, Timothy J — University of Illinois at Chicago
- Study coordinator: Koh, Timothy J
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.