Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

This isn't exactly for school, I'm an 8th grader (Soon as school starts again) but, I'm hoping to become a scientist when I get older, and I started a private project.
I need information for this certain project, could help many people if this is a success. Anyway, enough stalling, I need to know what body chemicals contribute to cell healing. Such as when you get a cut, what chemicals do the cells release to help heal it.
I need this information ASAP.

Hi ScienceWolf21,

The experts in the Life, Earth, and Social Sciences forum will be better able to answer your question. I will ask an administrator to move your post. In the meantime, these two articles (which you may have already found) discuss wound healing in some detail:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wound_healing
http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=3069

Hi ScienceWolf21,

This project sounds really interesting! Wound healing is strongly related to the circulatory and immune systems.
When you first get a cut, cells in the blood called platelets stick to the injured site, creating a clot. An important body chemical in this stage is a protein called fibrin, which forms a mesh and helps the platelets stick together.

The next stage of wound healing is inflammation, when the damaged or dead cells and any bacteria that may have entered the wound are removed. This is done by white blood cells, which are part of your immune system. White blood cell action is promoted by factors called cytokines, which are probably what you're most interested in. There are many different types of cytokines in the body.

However, wound healing is a complicated subject that's still being researched, and it involves many different stages and various chemicals.

Since this topic is so specific, I would recommend speaking with a professor or expert (there are several Science Buddies experts who might be helpful here) about this topic. To contact a professor with your question, I would first find a professor who researches the topic of wound healing on a university website. Then, send them an email detailing your interest in this subject and asking for more information. They may even offer to meet with you about your topic!

Hope this helps,
Allison

Hi ScienceWolf21,

In addition to the excellent information Allison provided, I would take a look at the roles of macrophages, which are white blood cells that "eat" potentially harmful substances. Macrophages can both increase and decrease inflammation, an important part of healing. Macrophages that decrease inflammation release cytokines, which helps calm the immune system's reaction to the wound (AKA inflammation) and allows it to begin repairing. The role of nitric oxide in inflammation could give you some more details, but I will refer this to another Expert who may have more information than me.

I hope this helps!
Megan