Proteins produced by parasitic roundworms could offer a better way to heal skin wounds without leaving scars, a new US study has found.

Research at Rutgers University, New Jersey, and also involving the University of Glasgow, UK, investigated the theory that molecules secreted externally by these worms may help with regenerating tissue, by controlling either the immune cells that promote healing, or those that promote scarring.

To test this, the team purified a protein produced by a specific roundworm (Heligmosomoides polygyrus) found in the intestines of mice.

When the protein was applied daily to skin wounds on mice – over 12 days – the animals showed a growth of collagen (a core component of skin) similar to normal, unwounded skin, compared to mice who were not given the treatment, where more scarring occurred.

William Gause, at Rutgers, said: “It provides a significant framework for the potential use of an easy-to-produce parasite protein as a therapy to promote cutaneous [skin] wound healing.”