Why skin and mouth wounds heal slowly in diabetes
Official title: Mechanisms for Impaired Diabetic Wound Healing
Funded at University of Pennsylvania · NIH-11367549 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests a targeted drug (MM-102) to help adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes heal skin and oral wounds more normally.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pennsylvania NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2026 |
| Project end | April 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $522,955 |
| NIH project number | 2R01DE019108-11A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11367549 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who experience slow or non-healing skin or oral wounds would be the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without diabetes or whose wounds are caused mainly by other issues (such as severe vascular disease, active cancer, or uncontrolled infection) may not benefit from this approach.
What this research studies
If you have diabetes, this project looks at why your skin and mouth wounds can heal poorly and whether blocking a specific epigenetic mark helps them heal normally. Scientists give a precise inhibitor (MM-102) in laboratory and animal models, including a large mini-pig model, to see if it improves wound repair. They study individual cells and gene activity using single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics (Xenium), and CUT&RUN, and then use bioinformatics to combine the data. The aim is to link diabetes-related molecular changes to real healing outcomes and guide development of treatments.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could lead to new treatments that restore more normal wound healing and reduce chronic oral and skin wounds in people with diabetes.
How similar studies have gone: Preclinical data show that blocking H3K4 methylation can rescue wound healing in animal models, but using this specific inhibitor in humans is novel.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Graves, Dana T — University of Pennsylvania
- Study coordinator: Graves, Dana T
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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.