A clinical trial conducted at the North Carolina State University (NCSU) in Raleigh tested a much faster wound-healing biotechnology that uses maggots to cure an infected area. The scientists used the laboratory-engineered fly larvae that didn’t just heal the wound but also hastened healing. The study on trial was published in the journal BMC Biotechnology.

The scientists spread the green bottle fly larvae, scientifically known as Lucilia sericata, on an open wound caused mostly by diabetic foot ulcers. The enhanced maggots cured the wound by removing dead tissue while decontaminating the wound. The process was quicker to offer recovery. The newly devised biotherapy is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is named maggot debridement therapy (MDT).

Foot ulcers are common among diabetic patients. In more severe cases, these ulcers can lead to amputation. MDT has been used to heal wounds by employing sterile maggots from the green bottle fly. As the maggots deposit antimicrobial secretions into a wound to eat the dead tissue, the wound is prevented from getting infected further. On the contrary, the new process is quicker in curing wound as it uses genetically modified maggots that speed up healing.

According to Max Scott, a North Carolina State University professor of entomology, the process of healing involves two tasks. Researchers had to enable construction, which involved discharging protein known as Platelet-derived growth factor subunit B (PDGF-BB). The maggots were exposed to a heat source of up to 37°C in most part of the process. However, the creation of PDGF-BB did not lead to both the excretions and the secretions of the maggots.

“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”, said Scott.