SerpinB3 is a critical protein that often reveals when the body’s barrier tissues, like the skin or lungs, are under serious stress from cancer or chronic illness.

But new research from Arizona State University shows that SerpinB3, long recognized as a disease marker, also has a natural role in the body: helping to heal wounds.

Skin wounds remain a major challenge for medicine. Of the roughly 6 million wounds that occur annually in the U.S., many are difficult to treat and are often linked to diabetes, burns, infection or advanced age. Together, these hard-to-heal wounds cost an estimated $20 billion each year.

In a new study, co-authors Jordan Yaron, Kaushal Rege and their colleagues with the Biodesign Center for Biomaterials Innovation and Translation discovered that SerpinB3 is part of the body’s natural wound-healing arsenal, helping the skin recover after damage.