A groundbreaking study conducted by researchers at Rutgers Health has unveiled a novel method to rapidly identify and target trauma sites in the body immediately following injury. Published in the esteemed journal Med, the findings have the potential to revolutionize emergency medical care by enabling real-time diagnostics and delivering site-specific treatments within minutes of trauma occurrence.
Led by Renata Pasqualini and Wadih Arap at the Rutgers Cancer Institute, in collaboration with RWJBarnabas Health, the research team made a significant discovery regarding the body’s response to injury. When cells are damaged, such as in a severe bone fracture, the levels of calcium within the cells increase, leading to structural changes in certain proteins. These altered proteins, known as the “traumome,” are unique to injured tissues and manifest immediately post-injury. This groundbreaking revelation paves the way for targeted treatments to be administered directly to the site of injury, without affecting healthy tissues.
“The moment trauma occurs, specific proteins undergo structural changes, creating a molecular footprint of injury,” explained Arap. “This opens the door to delivering diagnostics or therapies directly to the site—without affecting healthy tissues.”
The implications of this discovery in emergency medical treatment are profound, as many medications can have adverse effects on healthy organs when administered too early. With this innovative approach, healthcare providers could administer treatments like imaging agents, clotting factors, or antibiotics directly to the injured area, facilitating faster healing with minimal side effects.
“Our long-term vision is a simple injection that autonomously finds and treats injury sites,” added Pasqualini. “This could be transformative for battlefield medicine and emergency trauma care, where every second matters.”
Utilizing advanced testing on a pig model with severe injuries, the research team identified small protein fragments called peptides. These peptides act as guides, binding to the specific proteins that undergo changes in response to injury. Notably, one peptide was identified for its ability to attach to a protein that undergoes shape changes due to elevated calcium levels post-injury, enabling precise localization of the trauma site using imaging techniques like PET or MRI.
Further validating the effectiveness of the trauma-targeting peptide, the team conducted experiments on rats, demonstrating that this injury “signature” is consistent across mammalian species, including humans.
“Non-compressible bleeding remains a leading cause of death among soldiers before reaching a hospital, and localized treatment could dramatically improve survival rates, which was the original impetus of this research,” noted Jon Mogford, a co-author of the study.
Moving forward, the researchers plan to develop therapeutic agents linked to the trauma site-homing peptides, with subsequent testing in animal models preceding early human clinical trials. The team envisions a range of translational applications, encompassing battlefield medicine, civilian trauma response, and potentially extending to sports injuries or surgical recovery.
“We are actively developing peptide-drug conjugates and imaging agents based on this discovery,” affirmed Arap. “The traumome concept may also have applications beyond trauma, including in surgery, inflammation, and tissue regeneration.”
This groundbreaking research represents a significant advancement in the field of emergency medicine and holds promise for enhancing the efficiency and efficacy of trauma care. The potential to deliver targeted treatments directly to the site of injury within minutes of trauma occurrence could revolutionize the standard of care for patients in critical conditions.
