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Uric Acid and Xanthine Oxidoreductase in Wound Healing

  • CRYSTAL ARTHRITIS (MH PILLINGER, SECTION EDITOR)
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Abstract

Chronic wounds are an important health problem because they are difficult to heal and treatment is often complicated, lengthy and expensive. For a majority of sufferers the most common outcomes are long-term immobility, infection and prolonged hospitalisation. There is therefore an urgent need for effective therapeutics that will enhance ulcer healing and patient quality of life, and will reduce healthcare costs. Studies in our laboratory have revealed elevated levels of purine catabolites in wound fluid from patients with venous leg ulcers. In particular, we have discovered that uric acid is elevated in wound fluid, with higher concentrations correlating with increased wound severity. We have also revealed a corresponding depletion in uric acid precursors, including adenosine. Further, we have revealed that xanthine oxidoreductase, the enzyme that catalyses the production of uric acid, is present at elevated levels in wound fluid. Taken together, these findings provide evidence that xanthine oxidoreductase may have a function in the formation or persistence of chronic wounds. Here we describe the potential function of xanthine oxidoreductase and uric acid accumulation in the wound site, and the effect of xanthine oxidoreductase in potentiating the inflammatory response.

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Acknowledgment

This project is supported by the Wound Management Innovation Corporative Research Centre (WMI CRC).

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Conflict of Interest

Melissa L. Fernandez is employed by and received grant support from the WMI CRC, has received grant support from the National Health and Medical Research Council, and has had travel and/or accommodation expenses covered and/or reimbursed by the WMI CRC and Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation. Zee Upton has received grant support from the National Health and Medical Research Council, has served as a consultant for Tissue Therapies Ltd. and Smith and Nephew, is a chief investigator on research grants from and/or involving Tissue Therapies Ltd., has applied for patents planned and/or filed through Tissue Therapies Ltd., has purchased stock in Tissue Therapies Ltd., has had travel and/or accommodation expenses covered and/or reimbursed by WMI CRC, and has undertaken contract research for Novartis. In addition, her husband is an inventor of patents licensed to Tissue Therapies Ltd., consults for Tissue Therapies Ltd., has personally bought stock in Tissue Therapies Ltd., and is a chief investigator on grants from and/or involving Tissue Therapies Ltd. Gary K. Shooter has received grant support from the National Health and Medical Research Council, has served as a consultant for Tissue Therapies Ltd., has had travel and/or accommodation expenses covered and/or reimbursed by the WMI CRC, and has worked on projects in which patent applications have been filed by the Queensland University of Technology. Melissa L. Fernandez and Gary K. Shooter are also named inventors on the aspects of this project that has been patented by The Wound Management Innovation Pty.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with animal subjects performed by any of the authors. With regard to the authors’ research cited in this paper, all procedures were followed in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 and 2008.

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  1. Tissue Repair and Regeneration Program, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, 4059, QLD, Australia

    Melissa L. Fernandez, Zee Upton & Gary K. Shooter

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  1. Melissa L. Fernandez
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  2. Zee Upton
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  3. Gary K. Shooter
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Correspondence to Melissa L. Fernandez.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Crystal Arthritis

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Fernandez, M.L., Upton, Z. & Shooter, G.K. Uric Acid and Xanthine Oxidoreductase in Wound Healing. Curr Rheumatol Rep 16, 396 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-013-0396-1

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